'Bella:' One of '07's finest films

A diamond in the rough, yet tender and intelligent, "Bella" shines as one of the finest movies of 2007. This simple story is about love, redemption and, most of all, what makes a family. It may bring you to tears, not because the movie has manipulated you to do so, but because the characters are sweet and broken.

Winning the People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006, Bella is the work of debut filmmaker Alejandro Monteverde.

This disarming romance focuses on Jose, (pop star Eduardo Verstegui), a former pro soccer player who has been emotionally shut down since a long ago tragedy. Now he works as a chef in an upscale restaurant run by his sourpuss brother, Manny (Manny Perez). Manny is savvy when it comes to the restaurant business but has zero people skills in dealing with his staff.

Nina (Tammy Blanchard), a waitress at Manny's restaurant, has been late to work several times. She has just discovered that her "illness" really is an unexpected pregnancy. She doesn't bother to explain this to Manny, who fires her. She leaves the restaurant and Jose follows her, sensing that she could use a friendly shoulder.

Nina and Jose spend the day together and, although they aren't particularly well-acquainted at the beginning of their journey, they end up knowing each other well, especially after Jose takes Nina to his family's home in Rockaway Beach to meet his parents (Angelica Aragn and Jaime Tirelli), and his younger brother Eduardo (Ramon Rodriguez).

Essentially Bella's story shows us two broken people who discover they have the ability to mend each other. With an unusual attention to detail for what is essentially a character study of two people, the movie's low-key filming adds to the nuance and sense of grace inherent in Verstegui's and Blanchard's performances, both of which are models of emotional restraint.

"Bella" uses flashbacks to show that five years ago Jose was a famous star on the verge of signing a major sports deal, and from the way he sits on the beach, his long hair and bushy beard tousled by the sea breeze, we know this is a film about redemption and grace. Verstegui and Blanchard are wonderful as the leads, letting us into the hurt their characters feel without leaving us with the sense of being beaten over the head with it. It's not about demanding sympathy. It's about finally being able to express the pain that defines their characters and, thus, start to deal with it.

Where the film fails is in the conclusion, where we suddenly jump ahead in time for what is clearly intended as a satisfying resolution, but instead raises so many questions that viewers will likely feel that something has been left out of the movie. The situation in the coda -- which can't be revealed here without giving the movie away -- simply makes no sense.

This is one of those movies that brims unashamedly with life and love. With any luck, Bella's success will allow director Monteverde to hone his already considerable skills as a filmmaker to ensure that his future stories hang together more cohesively.

"Bella" is worth a look, but you leave it with the sense that Monteverde's best work is yet to come.