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Bella

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Source: Catholic News Service

Sweetly sentimental story about an unmarried New York waitress (an especially fine Tammy Blanchard) who loses her job after becoming pregnant, and her restaurant's empathetic chef (Mexican soap favorite Eduardo Verastegui) -- an ex-soccer star whose career ended after his car fatally struck a child -- who gives the young woman emotional support, takes her to visit his loving family, and gently tries to persuade her to keep the baby. Director and co-writer Alejandro Monteverde's impressive feature film debut is sometimes dramatically slack and implausible, but the sensitive performances, positive depiction of the chef's warm Latino family and, most of all, its affirmative pro-life message -- along with themes of self-forgiveness, reconciliation and redemption -- should resonate with Catholic viewers. Partially subtitled. A couple of crass words, a child's death, a drug reference, and the out-of-wedlock theme aside, the film is admirably free of objectionable elements. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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Matt Talbot: Matt can be considered the patron of men and women struggling with alcoholism.
<p>Matt was born in Dublin, where his father worked on the docks and had a difficult time supporting his family. After a few years of schooling, Matt obtained work as a messenger for some liquor merchants; there he began to drink excessively. For 15 years—until he was almost 30—Matt was an active alcoholic. </p><p>One day he decided to take "the pledge" for three months, make a general confession and begin to attend daily Mass. There is evidence that Matt’s first seven years after taking the pledge were especially difficult. Avoiding his former drinking places was hard. He began to pray as intensely as he used to drink. He also tried to pay back people from whom he had borrowed or stolen money while he was drinking. </p><p>Most of his life Matt worked as a builder’s laborer. He joined the Secular Franciscan Order and began a life of strict penance; he abstained from meat nine months a year. Matt spent hours every night avidly reading Scripture and the lives of the saints. He prayed the rosary conscientiously. Though his job did not make him rich, Matt contributed generously to the missions. </p><p>After 1923 his health failed, and Matt was forced to quit work. He died on his way to church on Trinity Sunday. Fifty years later Pope Paul VI gave him the title venerable.</p>

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