"BELLA" (2006) ..... A-

"Bella" means beautiful, and that pretty much describes this movie too. It has a big heart and offers fine, heartfelt performances from its leads, all of whom are largely unknown to American audiences. There is the strong likelihood that this movie might get lost during the end of the year crush of movies up for Oscar consideration, but you would be well advised not to let this little cinematic gem pass you by.

In spite of the fact that this film won the People's Choice Award at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival, it has received only modest advertising support. Still, it has persevered with strong word of mouth public support. Evidencing this are the tepid reviews from the nation's film critics, who have given this film a failing grade of 44%, versus the viewers, who have given it an enthusiastic 98% rating on the RottenTomatoes.com web site.

This may be a small movie, but it is about universal themes of family love, loyalty, a strong work ethic, and having the maturity to accept responsibility for one's personal actions. One of those responsibilities is whether or not to have an abortion when a young, unmarried waitress finds out that she is pregnant and the onset of morning sickness causes her to lose her job.

If you have heard anything at all about this movie, then you must have heard that abortion is its main topic, but that is a very unfair assessment given the fact that this movie is about so much more than just that. I will add here that this contentious moral and social issue plaguing much of America is covered with a great deal of grace in this film, and it is also covered about as well and as evenhandedly as possible with the issue addressed in a rather nonjudgmental fashion. In any event, please don't let this subject matter chase you away from seeing this very fine movie.

While the film is occasionally slow and leisurely, it packs an emotional wallop due to the fact that the story rings true and it is so life-affirming. The characters inhabit their roles and the scenes beautifully display the lively culture of Hispanic life and their very strong family relationships. This movie exhibits family values without preaching about them. It is all really quite wonderful.

The main theme of this movie is not abortion, but the story of how a young man who once had everything only to lose it all, gains back his humanity and the ability to enjoy life once again. José (Eduardo Verástegui) was such a rising star athlete at soccer that he was given a $2.2 million dollar contract to go professional. However, tragedy struck on the way to the contract signing ceremony when the car that he was driving hit and killed a young girl.

His brother, Manny (Manny Perez), counseled José to flee the scene, but José refused to do so. Instead of becoming a soccer star, he spent the next four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. Now out of prison, all dreams of glory on the soccer field have vanished, and he works as the head chef for his brother's popular Cuban restaurant in New York City.

José merely exists in life, walking through it in a somnambulant state with none of the zest for life that he once had. All of this changes when Manny fires one of his waitresses for being late three times. Manny accuses Nina (Tammy Blanchard) of being drunk or on drugs, and he refuses to hear her entreaties that instead she really was sick. Nina's plight touches José's long dormant heart, so he deserts Manny's kitchen on the spur of the moment to take off after her and offer whatever help that she may need. They spend the day together and each opens up the wounded heart of the other. 91 minutes, and rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief disturbing images.