"A Better Life" is a poignant story about the struggle of an honest, profoundly decent man to survive as an illegal alien in LA. Utterly devoid of political posturing and moralizing, the film deals instead with the universal human yearning for security, stability, and at least some degree of happiness in one's life.

Completely devoted to his teenage son Luis (José Julián), Carlos Galindo (Demian Bichir) maintains his humanity and dignity in the face of greed, deception, and cruelty. The inescapable precariousness of his situation underscores the futility of Carlos' efforts to better the life of his son as well as to improve his own condition. The dream of owning a business, moving to a better neighborhood, and giving his son a good education remains just that - a dream. In the end, an illegal, Carlos submits himself to the law and accepts its harsh verdict of deportation only to attempt to cross the border again, this time to reunite with his son.

The film probably will not change anyone's views on immigration policy in this country, but it cannot leave any thinking person unmoved.

A BETTER LIFE is one of the more understated films to come out of Hollywood, a film that has the courage to tell a story that is so politically charged - the immigration debate - that releasing it now is on the one hand asking for negative responses and on the other hand offers to the public the real truths behind our quandary about immigration. This country consists of immigrants - all of us - no matter how far back we have to trace our ancestry: the only people who did not begin their family history as immigrants from every country in the world and the Native Americans, and look how we are treating them! If this film does nothing else than plead the case of human understanding it will have accomplished more than legions of films that touch this subject too lightly.

Carlos Galindo (Demián Bichir, in an extraordinarily fine performance) crossed the border into the US with his new wife, looking for a way to improve his life. Upon arriving his wife gave birth to their son Luis (José Julián) and then promptly left Carlos in search of a better life, leaving Carlos to raise Luis alone. Carlos is an honest, caring man who must live in the shadow of being illegal: he cannot have a driver's license or papers that allow him the benefits of other people. Carlos has a steady job as a gardener with Blasco (Joaquín Cosio) who owns a truck and the two men work hard as gardeners.

When the film opens Carlos is saving is money from working with Blasco, living in a tiny house in the smarmy side of Los Angeles, trying to provide better schooling for his 15 year old Luis. Luis is of the age when he is easily influenced by his peers: his best friend is Ramon (Gabriel Chavarria) who is waiting to be of age to join the gang and forget about school in lieu of making money and living high. Luis is tempted to follow him, but he still attends school despite frequent absences and disinterest in education. Carlos is faced with a dilemma: Blasco wants to leave the business of gardening and suggests Carlos buy his truck and tools and start his own business. While Carlos sees the future in owning his own business (he can provide hope for a better life for Luis) he doesn't have enough money saved to buy the truck. His sister, indebted to Carlos for his protection and help, brings him her savings and Carlos buys the truck. Luis is surprised and then proud of his father's courage, but the happiness is short lived as one of the day laborers Carlos befriended - Santiago (Carlos Linares) - steals the truck, sells it on the black market and sends the money to his family in Mexico. It is this moment that provides an important turn for the relationship between Carlos and Luis. Luis bonds with his father and together they manage to locate the truck and take it back, only to be caught by the police for driving without a windshield. Carlos is jailed, Luis is devastated, but as Carlos is deported Luis pleads with him to 'come back home'. The film's ending tests the credibility a bit but it is heartwarming nevertheless.

The story as written by Eric Eason and Roger L. Simon is genuinely real and never veers toward the maudlin. They have created characters who not only demonstrate the importance of father son understanding and relationships, but they have approached the entire gamut of immigrant challenges and the manner in which this country deals with current immigrants in an honest manner. Without waving banners for or against immigration problems director Chris Weitz offers us the opportunity to see life from a different angle. One of the reasons this movie is so powerful in its impact and message is due to the brilliant performance by Demián Bichir, hopefully a candidate for an Oscar, and his performance is beautifully balanced by that of José Julián as his son. The film is scored by Alexandre Desplat and the music greatly enhances the rhythms of the story. There is such worth in this film that it would be wise for everyone in this country to view it - and remember our individual heritages and histories. Grady Harp, October 11

A few months back (well, it's been a while now), our local Independent Theater was playing a special showing of `A Better Life' and so my wife and I snuck away from the kids to indulge in one of our favorite pastimes; movies. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I had read good ink on Demian Bichir's performance and so I was excited to see what all the hype was about.

Wow; he was outstanding.

The film centers around an illegal immigrant named Carlos, working as a gardener in LA. He came to America with his wife and young son hoping to make a better life for them. Years later, he is raising his now teenage son alone, and his life really isn't that much better. He works hard, day in and day out, but he isn't making much headway. When a business opportunity presents itself, Carlos is hesitant to embrace it, but with a push from his sister he takes the leap, hoping that the payoff will be grand. In the meantime, his son is being persuaded by schoolmates to join a gang, and his growing frustration with his own situation is making him question his own loyalty to his father.

Sadly, `A Better Life' works better on paper than it does on film. When Bichir is not on the screen, the film falters; especially because the depiction of the gang and Carlos's son's friends are pretty clichéd and poorly acted. It takes you out of the gritty realism that Bichir brings to his role and his scenes. It felt like two separate films conflicting with one another; which is semi-understandable considering that Carlos and his son live in two separate worlds, but the cohesion needed to meld these two worlds together was missing. Bichir is remarkable though; a slow burning performance that grows in intensity but contains so much subtlety. His final scene with his son left me a puddle of tears. It was superbly played and possibly one of the single most moving scenes I've seen in all cinema this year.

I would recommend this film. It tells a beautiful story of one man's drive to help better his son's life. It doesn't work as a whole as well as I wanted it to, for it does in moments seem too simply crafted, but simple can be rewarding when it is done right; and there are many moments in `A Better Life' that are certainly done VERY right.