To me, this movie is perfection.

Sadly Over-hyped

Good movie but grossly overrated

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

"We asked for workers. We got people instead." ― Max Frisch Perhaps loosely inspired by Vittorio De Sica's "Bicycle Thieves", "A Better Life" is a weak film by director Chris Weitz. The plot? Demian Bichir plays Carlos Galindo, a Mexican gardener working in California. Much of the film watches as Galindo's son voices resentment toward his dad and mingles with low level gangsters, to his father's disapproval. The film ends with Galindo's gardening tools and truck being stolen. Like De Sica's classic, father and son then bond over their hunt for the missing gear."A Better Life" means well, and captures certain class and race based anxieties, but it's a thin, obvious and overly sentimental film, with many segments plagued by poor acting. The film's covert message – that immigrant sons should respect the sacrifices of their fathers, sacrifices which lay the foundations for the successes of future generations – gives the economic system these characters operate in, a free pass; capitalism always requires roughly 12-20 percent unemployment and whole swathes of immigrant labour. For similar, better films, see Ken Loach's "Bread and Roses", "El Norte", Kelly Reichardt's "Wendy and Lucy", and the documentaries "Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness", "Made in L.A", "9500 Liberty", "The 800 Mile Wall" and 2008's "American Harvest".5/10 – Worth one viewing.

It was a realistic film. I think it has a flawless script. In this film there is are lots of character. And the film of Better Life is not a complete action film. Mostly it is a constant film. Carlos is an immigrant who is living with his family in the America. And this man 's past was not so shiny. That's why he falls down on his son. Because he wants to educate his son so perfectly. Even he wants to establish a good life to his son than him. For his reason he found a job as a gardener. For me it is the most effective situation in this film. Because abnegation is the important thing for me. I wish all of the the fathers should be behaving like that. And also the main idea of the film is abnegation. At the end Carlos bought a truck to help his son. He bought the truck but he struggled to in a lot of ways. But he put up with this negativeness for his son. In short many of people make an effort for a better life. And also in this film, it is explicated. I liked this film.

A better life was nice laid back film which was entertaining in parts but was overshadowed by stupendous performance by Demian BichirA Better Life tells a story about a struggling father who is craving for a better school for his son's education , better place to stay and do something on his own.When I heard about Demian Bichir getting Oscar nod for his acting , I was thrilled to watch this flick. The movie has a simple story about a torn relationship between father and son and how father wants to make things better and spend some quality time with son. It is the simplicity that draws attention and makes it worth watching at least once. The movie starts off well with character building and some heart warming scenes but looses the steam afterwards. The 2nd half is little bit of engaging but the climax is saved by superb performance by Demian where he promises his boy to come back. Direction is good but screenplay could have been more crispy. Cinematography is decent along with nice background score. Damein Bichir is the remarkable who carries the film on his shoulder. He fits into the character that you feel sympathy for him Overall , very nice drama with some loose ends but goes well with superb performance by Damein Bichir.

"A better life" depicts the life of many Hispanic immigrants who came to America hoping for opportunities to seek the American dream. The movie is about a father migrating to the United States seeking for better life for his family only to realized that it was tougher than he thought. Working as a gardener, he struggles to make enough to support the family. Aside from being financially unstable, he also struggles to spend time with his son. Easily influenced by gangs, drugs, and violence, he tries his best to prevent his son from going into that path. A well directed movie with superb acting, this movie deserves to be in the top 5 movies of the year. It is a heartfelt movie that will make the audience fall in love with the characters and the storyline. Overall 11/10 stars