Movie Review for Bella

Summary: The movie centers around Nina, a young, unmarried waitress at a Mexican restaurant who finds herself pregnant and without work after coming in late several days because of morning sickness. Jose, the restaurant's chef, is taken by Nina's plight and becomes her sole confidant. Jose helps her walk through her decision on what to do with her pregnancy. In the process, he bears secrets from his own mysterious past, which reveal his tenderness and passion for her and the child she is carrying.

                         Reviews of Bella
By Marc Savlov of Austin Chronicle (7/0)
            Monteverde's unobtrusive direction makes Bella into something far more interesting and affecting ...

By Shlomo Schwartzberg of Boxoffice Magazine (4/3)
            Bella is as pedestrian as they come.

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            A heart-tugger with the confidence not to tug too hard.

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            The movie is not profound, but it's not stupid.

By Tasha Robinson of Chicago Tribune (7/0)
            In his feature directorial debut, Alejandro Monteverde hits the mark as often as he misses it, bu...

By Frederica Mathewes-Green of Christianity Today (7/0)
            The ending brought tears to my eyes, and left me feeling awed and grateful for the beauty of fami...

                         Reviews of Bella
By Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.net (7/0)
            Doesn't seem to have very much plot or purpose, besides being an overly sweet and cute love lette...

By Beverly Berning of culturevulture.net (7/0)
            Bella is a (...) parable of remorse and redemption, a tale of two damaged souls who end up helpin...

By Steven D. Greydanus of Decent Films Guide (7/0)
            Bolstered by engaging performances and an appealing Latin milieu, Bella tells a simple, idealisti...

By Brian Orndorf of eFilmCritic.com (7/0)
            Blanchard and Verastegui are the stars of the show here, and their interplay of trust and light f...

By Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly (7/0)
            [A] defiantly unsubtle, structurally clunky specimen.

By Frank Lovece of Film Journal International (7/0)
            May be the warmest, most heartbreaking family drama I've seen in years.

                         Reviews of Bella
By Frank Scheck of Hollywood Reporter (7/0)
            While Alejandro Gomez Monteverde's film has its heart in the right place, its effectiveness is ul...

By Amy Biancolli of Houston Chronicle (7/0)
            Writer-director Alejandro Gómez Monteverde brings to his feature debut a warmth and charity that ...

By David Kaplan of Kaplan vs. Kaplan (7/0)
            The movie works because we care about all the characters, especially with writing that rings true...

By Jeanne Kaplan of Kaplan vs. Kaplan (7/0)
            'Bella' is a good beginning for Monteverde. He exhibits the making of an excellent director. This...

By Glenn Whipp of Los Angeles Daily News (7/0)
            Crudely made tear-jerker.

By Geoff Berkshire of Metromix.com (7/0)
            Without a standout performance or a compelling story the entire project is so slight you practica...

                         Reviews of Bella
By Mack Bates of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/0)
            This is, first and foremost, an actors' showcase, and the entire ensemble delivers.

By Colin Covert of Minneapolis Star Tribune (7/0)
            Rarely are crowd-pleasers so effortlessly artful.

By Lou Lumenick of New York Post (7/0)
            Cynics need not apply, but I found Bella a real heart tugger.

By Scott Tobias of Onion AV Club (7/0)
            The emotions at play in Bella are no doubt heartfelt, but they're so cut-and-dried that the mawki...

By Cynthia Conlin of Orlando Weekly (7/0)
            Where a typical love story is often fantastical, the characters and situations in Bella are penet...

By Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews (7/0)
            An inspirational ethnic soap opera story about two damaged sensitive souls coming together in a ...

                         Reviews of Bella
By Steven Rea of Philadelphia Inquirer (7/0)
            What are you going to do when your lead actress offers a performance that's as unlikable as the w...

By Linda Cook of Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) (7/0)
            Tender and intelligent, "Bella" simply shines as one of the finest movies of 2007.

By David Nusair of Reel Film Reviews (7/0)
            ...Blanchard delivers a searing, unexpectedly powerful performance that certainly eliminates any ...

By Sean Means of Salt Lake Tribune (7/0)
            Through the bog of clichés in director/co-writer Alejandro G. Monteverde's melodrama, the flinty ...

By Ruthe Stein of San Francisco Chronicle (7/0)
            A tearjerker that earns its sobs with heartfelt emotions.

By Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine (7/0)
            Scored to a relentless mix of Spanish and English pop anthems, cut like a Grudge freak-out, and p...

                         Reviews of Bella
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (7/0)
            An inspirational drama about a loving and compassionate man who gives a troubled and lonely woman...

By Ken Fox of TV Guide's Movie Guide (7/0)
            The film never takes direct issue with a woman's right to choose.

By Robert Koehler of Variety (7/0)
            The warm stars can do only so much to humanize a mucky narrative that unavoidably lessens the fil...

By Julia Wallace of Village Voice (7/0)
            I won't spoil it, except to say that it manages to be utterly predictable without making any sens...

By Desson Thomson of Washington Post (7/0)
            A Mexican movie in which the outcome is never in doubt, the scenes are endless -- sorry, we meant...

By Daniel M. Kimmel of Worcester Telegram & Gazette (7/0)
            ...it's a movie that touches the heart, even if it has its narrative problems.

                         Reviews of Bella
By John Beifuss of Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            Its anti-abortion argument is loaded: How many pregnant waitresses discover they've been working ...

By Jonathan Rosenbaum of Chicago Reader (6/1) No reference
            Alejandro Gomez Monteverde's first feature may have more heart than head, but it's also just as i...

By Jeff Vice of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (3/4) No reference
            Bella turns out to be a clumsy message movie, one that leaves a lingering bad taste, whatever you...

By Tom Long of Detroit News (3/4) No reference
            A barely disguised anti-abortion tract, Bella is simple-minded, heavy-handed and as subtle as a g...

By Loey Lockerby of Kansas City Star (3/4) No reference
            A little too safe and tentative.

By Gary Goldstein of Los Angeles Times (3/4) No reference
            Bella is certainly a sweet, life-affirming picture, but it's just not authentic or captivating en...

                         Reviews of Bella
By Connie Ogle of Miami Herald (3/4) No reference
            Bella, insubstantial and trite, is as forgettable as a movie can be.

By Stephen Holden of New York Times (3/4) No reference
            Bella is a movie that wears its bleeding heart on its sleeve and loves its characters to distract...

By John Anderson of Newsday (3/4) No reference
            It's better when the earthy Nina and the dreamy, Christlike Jose are more or less floating throug...

Movie Distributors
Roadside Attractions

Production Companies
Bella Productions
LLC
The One Media
Mpower Pictures

Movie Studios