The Sea Inside (2004)
This film saw the
powerful Spanish contemporary filmmaker Alejandro Amenabar
collaborate with the equally talented Javier Bardem in making one of
the finest films based on a true story. The Sea Inside, or Mar
Adentro (original title), was a film based on the life of Ramon
Sampedro, a fisherman poet who, at a very young age had an accident
while diving, which left him a bed-ridden quadriplegic. The film
touched upon the controversial topic of euthanasia and received great
critical acclaim, especially for Javier Bardem's graceful portrayal
of a man who wanted nothing more than to control his own destiny.
No Country For Old Men (2007)
This
contemporary-western-action-drama-thriller directed by the Coen
brothers (Ethan and Joel) was easily one of the finest films of the
decade. With a hauntingly quiet background score that consisted only
of ambient sounds, the film explores universal themes like greed,
wrath and other biblical sins in a very modern setting. Javier Bardem
plays the role of Anton Chigurh, a killing machine void of human
emotions who decides the fate of his victims by the flip of a coin.
Portraying the character in all its cold-blooded brutality, Bardem
ends up taking the entire cake of credit for the movie which also
stars Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and Kelly Macdonald.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
An elegant romantic drama
by Woody Allen is one of those rare dramedies featuring the
gloomy-eyed, gruff-voiced actor. The film is about two friends Vicky
and Cristina (Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson) who visit
Barcelona on a trip so that Vicky can work on her degree. They meet
the charming artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) who offers them a
vacation where they could make love. Vicky refuses but Cristina is
eager for a new experience. However, things get ugly when Antonio's
passionate, tippy ex-lover Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) arrives at the
scene after a failed suicide attempt.
Biutiful (2010)
This film saw the dreams
of a lot of movie geeks come true as the director known for films
like Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel collaborated
with Javier Bardem. This Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu film casts
Bardem in the role of Uxbal; a man torn between his many roles,
struggling to make it work as a father and a lover, at the same time
juggling his identities of spirituality, mortality and guilt. Set in
the underbelly of modern Barcelona, Uxbal's fate encircles him and
crosses lines to show us that life is cyclic and it all begins where
it ends. The film is all about Bardem and his secret repertoire from
which he procures the emotions for love, loss and many other things.
Skyfall (2012)
There are roles that
define you and there are roles that are defined by you; and then
there are roles that strike the balance between the character and the
actor, and create a magnificent work of art. Skyfall was just
one such film where the James Bond franchise in its 50-years of glory
went on to cast Javier Bardem in the role of the negative character
of Silva. Like he does with all his roles, Bardem quite willingly
steps into the shoes of his character and brings to life a
megalomaniac, who only has revenge on his mind. Although not the best
of films, playing the bad guy in a 007 film is a big deal.
Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 1, 2013
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