My impressions on Bella

Here are some of my thoughts, as posted to our homeschool group:

• Bella is essentially a pro-life movie, set all in or near New York City. It's about a young man with a traumatic past who is able to help a girl who is contemplating abortion. They are not romantically related.
  
• It is very different from the usual Hollywood fare, be prepared. The camera angle is difficult to watch at times, the pace of the dialog is unusual. There are parts that are not pleasant, and then there are wonderful, funny parts, of gorgeous photography.
  
• Personally, I would remove the camera at least about two meters away from the subjects -- the intense close-ups bothered me, but our Number Two, who watched it with us in TX during Thanksgiving holidays, thought they did a good job of bringing up the intimate, personal dimension of the story. She loved it.
• I loved its pro-life stance, and the fact that the turning point for the young woman was the exposure to his healthy, warm, loving family. We know this conceptually, but it's wonderful to see a film celebrating family life as a redeeming catalyst.
  
• Age? I believe the PG 13 rating is appropriate, although the worst is really a painful scene of a child being run-over, and very well done too. I don't remember offensive language and certainly no nudity etc. So, I believe, depending on the child you could take a younger-than-13 child to see it.
• I *highly* recommend that you watch this 6 minute clip before you go! It's the main actor/producer telling of his own life and pro-life motives. (Besides, he's gorgeous!)