ABIGAIL CIRELLI | staff writer

Bella's controversial topic only intensify its critical acclaim.

A love story at the movies should have two people who meet by chance, through an unlikely series of events. They fall in love, encounter an unpredictable plot twist that threatens to keep them apart only to be reconciled against all odds. And as the credits roll you leave assured they will get married and have babies and live happily ever after.

The sad thing is half of us probably think so. I saw a surprisingly different love story this weekend.

Safe from Hollywood’s adulterating grip, writer and director Alejandro Monteverde conceived a healthy, beautiful story.

Opening last Friday, Bella is far from a fairy tale, and alienated from typical chick flicks.

Winner of the Toronto Film Festival’s coveted “People’s Choice Award,” the independently produced film is up for a record breaking 17 Oscar nominations.

According to the official movie website, the Metanioa Films team is brought together by a vision to make timeless films that make a positive difference in the world.
Bella is the company’s first film, and the tagline speaks well to the message: “True love goes beyond romance.”

Nina, played by Tammy Blanchard, is a woman who has to face the terrifying reality that many girls and women face every day, an unwanted pregnancy.

Bella’s protagonist is Jose, played by Eduardo Verastugi, a chef who works in the restaurant where Nina is a waitress.

He is a genuinely compassionate man whose past haunts him. Bella is the story of the intersection of their two lives.

He puts his life on hold for a woman in whom he has no sexual or romantic interest, and in turn, finds himself.

But the film is not about them, it is about her.

What’s surprising about the movie is the nature of the relationship between the two main characters. I was waiting for the expected sexual tension and romantic attraction to arise. Yet the love that grows between the two is a deep, intimate friendship.

The bustling, eclectic character of New York sets the tone as the film’s backdrop.

Their workplace is a loud kitchen run by a business-oriented manager. The story line follows their journey.

They stop along the way, sometimes deliberately, sometimes at random, sometimes against their intentions.

Altogether, the series of events and interjections make the story vivid, interesting, and realistic.

Although the word “abortion” is never mentioned in the movie, the controversial theme is very present.

During the conversations Nina and Jose have about it, the intensity of the situation is highlighted as the dialogue scenes cut in and out with scenes of Jose’s haunting past or Nina’s imminent future.

While the splicing is at times slightly confusing, it primarily serves to portray the complexity of the decision at hand.

To their credit, the producers make no universal judgment one way or another on the morality of abortion.

“It didn’t try to convince you to do one thing or another. It kind of left it open,” sophomore sociology major Alison Kuhn said.

The film tells the story of one woman’s legitimate struggles and pain. Adoption, the commonly hailed alternative to abortion, is rejected by Nina as a much more painful option.

“The relationship that you have with this growing person inside of you, that you’re going to have for the rest of your life, is a really precious and special one” philosophy professor Teri Merrick said. “So it’s not surprising that even though she’s considering abortion, the thought of a little piece of who she is running around that she’s not taking care of is really strong for her.”

Her situation forces Jose to face his past and ultimately brings about his redemption.

“When other people are just sort of debating these things theoretically and you’re living through them, sometimes the insensitivity, how one moves from the general to the particular and the particular to the general is a very difficult move intellectually to make,” Merrick said. “I think not being careful about that transition can cause a lot of insensitivity and mistakes. And it seems like that is what the film is kind of dealing with.”

The gravity of the plot doesn’t prevent the movie from being lovable.

Charming moments and comic relief are expertly woven into the script.

The film’s humor isn’t awkwardly added in as an afterthought, but ebbs in and out with fluid veracity. For example, when we meet Jose’s family comedy surfaces easily, as is often the case when meeting anyone’s family.

Subtle imagery strings the film together, expertly giving the film a sense of connection and resolve.

The movie fades away to the lyrics of a Rachael Yamagata song, “Would you meet me by the water tonight, ‘cause I’m ready to break all the rules.’”

Bella defiantly breaks all the rules when it comes to what a love story is supposed to look like.

I haven’t seen a more enjoyable film in a long time.