A Beautiful Life 2009 Movie
Maggie (Angela Sarafyan), a middle-class Caucasian girl running from a brutal father, David (Jesse Garcia), an illegal from El Salvador who has lost his mother along the way, and Esther (Bai Ling), a Chinese stripper and would-be singer in a blond wig, are all young adults who have befriended each other in Los Angeles ("where some come to hide and others come to dream"), in the October 9th select (Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Chicago) theatrical release of the film A Beautiful Life. The film has an October 2nd exclusive release at the Sunset 5 in Los AngelesAlthough the energy of youth can be seemingly limitless, the small group is constantly confronted with bullies, robbers manipulators, possible deportation, unpaid bills and the need to work jobs they never envisioned (e.g. running drugs) just to get by.
"I wanted a beautiful life too," David tells Maggie, but the past gets in the way, and somehow the present is always fraught with worry. Angela Saraflyan gives a very touching performance as Maggie, helped by the fact that her looks are not typical or perfect, and Esther, played by Bai Ling, a beauty to whom guys are constantly attracted, can only dream of a large stage on which she's singing to thousands and thousands of people.Yet ultimately, the friends are loyal to each other and try to understand each other, although each comes from such a dissimilar background. What can David do when he has no money to hire someone to find his mother "left somewhere near the border", and what can Esther do when the guys she wants have no intention of being faithful to her and the guys she doesn't want obsess over her? Maggie may have the most difficult situation of them all, discovering learned elements within herself that are decidedly unattractive and that are now strongly rooted in her subconscious
I would recommend watching A Beautiful Life with the family, because although it's unrated there are many sexual and drug themes involved. The film represents life as messy and somewhat impossible (when you're severed from your family), although the performances of the three main characters are both solid and endearing, and, in the end, hopeful.
"Maybe we can try again tomorrow," Maggie hauntingly says to David (and they're still together!) at the end of A Beautiful Life. His reply is, "We'll try again tomorrow."
"Maybe we can try again tomorrow," Maggie hauntingly says to David (and they're still together!) at the end of A Beautiful Life. His reply is, "We'll try again tomorrow."
