#18 "Bella"

Stats: 2006. Starring Eduardo Verástegui & Tammy Blanchard. PG-13.

Background: I first heard of Bella in late 2007. Candice Watters of Boundless.org wrote a great review of it, and after reading that review, I knew I wanted to see it. In May of 2008, I rented it from Netflix. My mom and I watched it together, and we both really enjoyed it. I gave it to Mom for her birthday, and then I found it for myself on half.com.

Reactions: As Watters said, Bella is beautiful. There’s no other way to say it. Each time I watch it, I come away thankful that I’ve seen it.

Bella shows how one day can completely change your life. Jose (Verástegui) is a former soccer player whose life fell apart due to one mistake. Now he spends his days working in his older brother’s restaurant, completely haunted by that mistake. Nina is a waitress at the same restaurant; when Jose’s brother fires her for being late, Jose follows her, believing there’s more to her story. There is—she’s pregnant, and she intends to have an abortion. The film could have taken a hard, abortion-is-murder line. Instead, Jose chooses to love and accept Nina, no matter what, even agreeing to accompany her to the clinic. In Jose’s care for Nina, he finds the redemption he’s been longing for. And in the end, Bella gives one of the strongest pro-life messages I’ve ever seen, all without being “preachy.”

Watch Bella. You won’t regret it. (If you're careful about movie ratings, don't let Bella's PG-13 deter you. I honestly have no idea why it's not rated PG.)

Verdict: Keep!!!

Fun Facts: Ali Landry (The Doritos Girl and Mario Lopez's ex-wife) has a small role in the film. I actually had to look it up on imdb because I couldn't figure out which character she played. She was excellent. Turns out, she's married to Bella's writer-director.