Faith and Film Night “A Better Life” on Feb 8th, 2019 7:00pm

February’s Faith and Film offering is “A Better Life” (2011), directed by Chris Weitz, who also directed the critically acclaimed film “About a Boy.”  Its main character, Carlos (played by Demian Bichir) is an undocumented Mexican immigrant who works as a gardener tending the lawns of Los Angeles residents who are rich, especially from his point of view. He lives from hand to mouth and day to day in a tiny house whose garden is used to raise starter plants for his clients. His wife left some years ago, and he raises his 15-year-old son, Luis, by himself.    In “A Better Life”, these two men are being pulled apart by life in America. Carlos keeps a low profile, works hard, and holds traditional values. Luis (Jose Julian) hasn’t joined a gang in his neighborhood yet, but that would seem to be his trajectory. He misses school, he quietly considers his dad an irrelevant loser, and when he asks for money and there isn’t any, he knows how to get under his father’s skin: “I’ll jack a little old lady.”    Carlos works for Blasco (Joaquin Cosio), who owns a landscaping truck and the business that goes with it. Now Blasco has enough money to return to Mexico and his own little farm, and offers to sell Carlos his truck, tools, client list — everything. But Carlos can’t get a driver’s license, and a police stop would mean deportation. His sister reluctantly lends him some money, and the next day the truck is stolen. He thinks he might be able to find the man who took it and enlists his son to help him search.    The film was critically acclaimed when it was first released.  Roger Ebert gave it 3 ½ stars (out of 4).  Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised “the monumental performance of Bichir (Carlos), who lets us into the mind and heart of a man most of us walk past and never see. This movie will get under your skin.”  Bechir received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor    “A Better Life” will be shown in the Narthex on Friday, February 8, at 7:00 pm.  The film is primarily in English with some Spanish.  Refreshments will be provided.  If you would like to attend and need childcare, contact Mark Grimsley at christopher.grimsley@gmail.com