Whereas Oscar-nominated Demian Bichir of the movie ‘A Better Life’ is an accomplished veteran actor, his co-star, José Julián is an outstanding neophyte who makes his feature debut in as the son of Bichir’s character Carlos Galindo in A Better Life.

“We needed to find the right young actor to play Luis Galindo, someone who could hold his own against Demian on screen,” remembers producer Michael McLaughlin. “Usually, this involves a nation-wide search for an unknown that is fraught with the possibility that not finding the right actor will actually derail the production.

In her interview for the job, our casting director, Carla Hool, declared she’d already found Luis for us. And then she showed us tape of José Julián. The first time we tested José and Demian together, we were beside ourselves because they found the father-son dynamic with each other instantly and so early in the process.”

“From the start we knew we were going to cast an unknown as Luis, his son. In his performance, José demonstrates what an extraordinarily clever, intelligent and talented actor he is, even though this is his first movie. I felt he was the guy from the first time I saw him.

Plus, he’s an example of someone the film represents – it took him three hours to get to his auditions, due to the number of buses he had to take,” says the movie’s director Chris Weitz. “Also, mixing an extraordinarily technically accomplished actor, like Demian, with someone who is making his motion picture bow, like José, worked beautifully.”

As it turned out, Bichir, a garrulous man who typically greets everyone with a bear hug, happily took José under his wing, which thrilled his young protégé.

“It was incredible working with him, it was like being in a fantastic acting class and he was the professor. He’s completely an actor’s actor. He has a very systematic approach to how he works, the roles he takes and I completely admire him,” Julián says.

“Demian is a consummate professional. He completely understood the character he was playing. And he’s been a great gift to José Julián—to work with someone who is both so generous and so professionally accomplished. He’s everything a young actor could ask for, and José has been quite a gift as well.

The movie is driven by these two characters. If either one of them is even a little off, you lose so much. And to find someone this age who’s this talented and charismatic is just, quite frankly, more than I had hoped for. And I think he has an enormous career in front of him,” producer Paul Junger Witt sums up.

Julián, who was 16 during production, was always disappointed that, due to child labor laws, his shooting day ended earlier than Bichir’s. Their characters’ fraught on-screen relationship was the total antithesis of their off-screen partnership.

“Luis is teenager who lives in Los Angeles with his father who is illegal. Luis is always angry and pissed at his father and has no respect for him, even though deep down he loves him. He always gives his father a hard time. Luis has many friends who are in gangs and if he isn’t careful, Luis will end up in that lifestyle.

He’s smart, he doesn’t want to end up that way, but after a while, he may not have an option. When his father buys a truck, it’s a great thing because it means a better life for them but when it is stolen, Luis and his father go to find it and that becomes the opportunity for them to finally connect,” Julián explains.

Julián adds that there were certain aspects about the character and the film that he related to personally. “I’m from California, I grew up with kids like Luis. I think it’s a very realistic portrayal, not just of the teenagers, but of illegals – and we lived in areas that were very gang oriented, I know what it’s like to be subjected to those conditions, exposed to that environment,” Julián says.

Julián also developed a special bond with producer Jami Gertz. Gertz certainly empathized with his position as “the newbie.” Invariably, in between takes, Julián would seek her advice – or just sit and play scrabble, a pastime that allowed him to be distracted and present at the same time.

“I’ve been in his place before. I was the young, first-time actor on a set, so I completely empathized with him and hope I was a resource for him. My attitude about movies in general and performing, specifically, is that it is a huge team effort and the goal, for me as a producer, is to aid in that effort in any way I can; to help everyone shine and be the best that they can be. If I could be a sounding board for Jose in that way – or even just provide a safe place to hang out, I was happy to do it,” Gertz says.

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Jóse Julián plays Luis Galindo in the Oscar-nominated movie ‘A Better Life’ and the young actor was able to convey a convincing performance and wonderful screen chemistry with seasoned veteran Demian Bichir. However, Julián also shared many of his scenes with Chelsea Rendon and Bobby Soto, who played Ruthie, Luis’ tough, loyal girlfriend and Facundo, his energetic best friend.

The three teenage actors genuinely liked each other and the natural rapport they shared on and off camera was apparent. “I’m the man, definitely. I kind of push him around. Ruthie is a bad influence. Her whole family is made up of gang members. She’s grown up in that atmosphere, she’s very cocky and confident because she knows she can talk smack – her family is backing her up.

I think she really cares for Luis – I think he brings out her girlier side because he is not as big and tough but at the same time, she wants him to be part of the gang lifestyle because literally that is her family,” Rendon says. Rendon, friendly with a quick grin, is far less intimidating than her character. Nevertheless, she found she had quite a bit in common with Ruthie.

“This role was really close to home for me. I grew up in East LA, about ten minutes from where it’s set. Ruthie will always speak up for her friends and so will I. I’ve always been a tomboy, always hanging around guys, so in those respects I’m a lot like her. I think the whole movie is very accurate, in fact. I go to public schools, so I know about the influence of gangs and drugs and the [presence of] illegals – I think the movie really depicts all that authentically,” Rendon says.

Interestingly, although Ruthie’s kin are clearly affiliated with gangs, Luis’ visits with her and her relations are almost old fashioned – no violence, just a welcoming, familial sensibility – even if her supportive uncles are covered with ominous tattoos and may have designs on Luis’ future that his father doesn’t share. While Luis’ interest in Ruthie does not necessarily extend to her gang affiliations, their friend Facundo has no such reservations.

“Facundo is definitely into the gangs and is all about influencing Luis into joining one with him.  They’ve been best friends since childhood but Facundo sees no way out – a gang is what he thinks will give him high ranking in the neighborhood. He tries to influence Luis in that direction.

He is not like Luis, who can just ignore it. Facundo needs to be part of a gang, and he would love for Luis to be a part of it with him,” says Bobby Soto. Soto adds that he hopes kids who see the movie will relate more to Luis than to Facundo, who often seems to be fueled by false bravado and misguided ambitions.

“I think a lot of kids romanticize violence and drugs and gangs. Hopefully, if they see this movie they’ll think differently – that you don’t have to be a thug to be somebody, that you have a choice,” Soto says.

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Chris Weitz, an Academy Award® Nominee for About A Boy (2002) and possibly even better known as the director of Twilight’s New Moon (2009), is bringing another powerful drama to the screen in A Better Life. In his new movie, Weitz paints a narrative of the resilience through the story of a father, who is an illegal citizen, working as a gardener in L.A. to provide a better life for his son. The father, played by Demián Bichir, has access to an important business opportunity through obtaining a pickup truck which would allow him to build a successful operation and have control of his own destiny. This potential is soon crushed when his pickup truck is stolen, throwing not only his life but his son’s into jeopardy.

A strong contender for next year’s Oscars as well as the Spirit Award, this film supplies a sturdy storytelling of a very real fact of life for many illegal immigrants living and working around the world today. The film stays true to many Latino elements, featuring little English and a cast comprised of almost entirely Latino actors. Bichir, who played Fidel Castro in Che (2008), delivers an honest and hardworking performance of a parent up against all odds who continues to fight after each set back in hopes of a good future for his teen son Luis.

Struggling against the presence of gangs and the community offered within them, Bichir’s son, played by newcomer Jose Julian, struggles against what he wants and what his father is trying to provide for him. The hardships which both must endure intertwines them, resulting in a profound connection between not only father and son, but opportunity and the success a person can create.

A Better Life manages its portrayal of the hardships by a single parent Latino very carefully.  The context which provides a vehicle for the script is the tightly woven bonds between Latino families and how hardships can tear at that very fabric. At a KCET screening series Weitz identified the movie as having a “deceptively good script” which “dissolved into performances of the actors”.  A strong element of the seamless performances given which are completely embodied by the actors is the fact that they were cast without an invested interest in celebrity names. Aside from Demián, who is well known throughout Mexico, the rest of the cast is relatively unknown. This is a key element to the dialogue which the film creates, allowing for an experience unmarred by the political and social baggage which established actors would inevitably contribute.

Despite coming highly acclaimed, A Better Life has struggled to find publicity among many viewers. To be part of a story heard through every culture and race, find this movie in a theater nearby and take meaning from the determination of humanity.

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