A Better Life is a courageous, heartfelt drama about a father – an illegal immigrant from Mexico – and his son, a natural born US citizen, who struggle to make ends meet and live the proverbial American dream. Carlos (Demián Bichir) and his allegedly estranged wife came to Los Angeles where they had Luis (José Julián) who is now fourteen-years-old. Later in the film, it is revealed that Carlos’s wife left him because she wanted more from America than Carlos could give her in the way of money and possessions. Carlos tries his best to raise enough money to send Luis to a better school, because he was struggling in his school in East LA. Luis is also dangerously close to be recruited by the many gangs that run rampant in their neighborhood.
While dealing with his son’s typical teenage rebellion, Carlos, a hard-working landscaper, is finally able to buy a truck which will help him with his business as well as increase his payload – something he views as a tremendous milestone. Although Luis cares little about his dad’s business at first, he becomes involved when Carlos’s truck is stolen and the pair set off to recover it.
It is very heartwarming to see this turn of events and witness the father and son reconnect after having such a rocky relationship at the beginning of A Better Life. The two of them now have only each other and must rely on one another to survive. Unfortunately, their struggle does not end after finding the truck as they are faced with the possibility of Carlos’s deportation. It is moving to see all that this family endures just for the mere chance of having a better life.
A Better Life is powerfully acted and hits the social-political immigration hot button right on the spot. It is extremely eye-opening and will make anyone who sees it think about how wonderful life in America really is and how sought after it is from those living outside of it. The characters of Carlos and Luis are easy to emotionally invest in as a viewer and their story will stay with you long after the film ends. If you feel the need to take a break from the summer blockbusters and see a film of great substance, then this is the one to see.
