Refreshing...
BELLA is a well-suited title for this tender story about a day in the life two New Yorkers. It's a romantic drama that manages to be moving, funny, heartbreaking, and uplifting without straying down the same clichéd path we've all been a hundred times before. Eduardo Verástegui and Manny Perez both turn out strong performances, and Tammy Blanchard delivers a compelling, emotionally honest portrayal of a young woman dealing with an unexpected crisis. First-time director Alejandro Monteverde succeeds in showing audiences the selfless side of love too often neglected by Hollywood, and BELLA's poignant themes of redemption and forgiveness stay with you long after the credits roll. It's hard to say much more without giving away major plot lines, but BELLA is a movie you definitely don't want to miss.

I loved this movie!
This is probably one of my very favorite movies. I saw it 5 times and can't wait to see it again. Critics have tried to make this a movie about "pro-life" which is why it never made it to the bigtime. But I think it's a story about family, and a story about values. What's important in life? It answers the question bigtime and even throws in a surprise ending. I thought about it all week and fantasized I was a part of the family or at least knew them. They're who you would want your family to be in real life if you could choose.

A rare kind of movie.
Bella is a beautiful story of goodness, the kind of story I'm no longer accustomed to. Since this was an independent movie, I expected the usual dwelling on what's worst in human nature, impatiently expecting a graphic abortion scene, a lead-up to a botched suicide, or the disintegration of the family resulting from Jose and Nina's relationship. Nada. Without a single swear-word, without violence or sex, without the almost cliched plumbing of our darkest depths, director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde tells a moving tale of family love that permeates through each of its members.

Bella
This is a fantastic and uplifting story. Without being "preachy" it reaches into the heart and inspires you! While the characters wrestle with major life changing situations, this movie realistically portrays the struggle and at the same time shows how even in the hardest of times we can reach into the lives of others and make a positive difference. I was eagerly waiting for this movie to come out on DVD. Thanks for offering it!

WATCH THIS FILM
This is a noble and refreshing attempt to give a different perspective - it promotes life and love without the saccharine Hollywood gloss. It is so detailed it takes a couple of watches (at least) to really get everything you can from it but it is clear from a first viewing that this first time director has an immense talent. The acting is superb and understated. Set in a bustling New York and shot in such away that you almost feel you are pounding the pavements along with the characters this really is an experience you don't get with a blockbuster.

Having won awards over big budget blockbusters no film has earned its place more than Bella and no film can possibly deserve to be there more. Watch this film - and not just once - if nothing else it will make you think and it might even make you act and react in a positive way to some of life's big questions and life's littlest people. It would be amazing if it went on general release in the UK until then I recommend it to all those across the pond. Enjoy!