The Times didn’t twist this one

But then, it’s a movie review, and the blurb is short.

The movie “Bella” really is about what the reviewer in the New York Times says:

A man whose life is about to be changed forever discovers that sometimes it takes losing it all to finally appreciate the things that truly matter in director Alejandro Monteverde’s emotional tale of self discovery.

If you don’t know this yet, Monteverde makes his debut directing “Bella”, which has already won the esteemed Toronto Film Festival top award.

“It’s unbelievable,” Sean Wolfington told me when I asked about “Bella’s” surprise success in Toronto. “We all knew we had something special. We knew that for sure. But we didn’t know for sure that everybody would agree. It’s incredible. This is a first time film for all of us — from the writer to the director to the producers and the director even decided to select a first time editor for feature films (Fernando Villena), a first time composer (Stephan Altman) and a first time cinematographer (Andrew Cadalago). So no one really knew what to expect.

“We’d heard about awards from different festivals, but we were so excited (just) to get into Toronto that we couldn’t even think about awards. But then we thought, ‘Well, what if we won?’ We asked somebody and they said, ‘It’s nearly impossible because there’s only one big award and you’re competing with a lot of Oscar (contenders).’

Overcoming obstacles is what this amazing film is all about, from what went into its making to what you’ll see on the screen.

And speaking of that, “Bella” is coming out this week. Find a way to get there in this opening weekend, and take people with you. We need more films like this, and being there on opening weekend is one of the surest ways of sending that message to the entertainment industry.

Put it in your weekend plans now. See it more than once. It’s worth it.