Father and son look for 'A Better Life'

Chris Weitz's "A Better Life," about an undocumented Mexican immigrant and his American-born teenage son scouring Los Angeles for the stolen truck that provides their only income, offers a topical update to Vittorio De Sica's landmark 1948 film, "The Bicycle Thief," in which a poor Italian father and his little boy searched for a bicycle. The older film is one of those universally praised works of art that gets a pass when it comes to politics. "A Better Life" may meet a different fate.

It's an unexpected effort from the director of 2008's "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," but Weitz tells his story with patience and sensitivity. He is also blessed with two extraordinary lead actors. Demián Bichir (2008's "Che") is Carlos Galindo, a day laborer stooped by exhaustion; José Julián makes his film debut as Carlos' son, Luis. He's the more complicated character, a boy so pained by his father's sacrifices that he resents them. The local gang members seem to offer a more glamorous future.

Several scenes directly echo "The Bicycle Thief" -- a brief idyll at a restaurant, an act of violence, a last resort -- and Weitz doesn't address America's immigration policy any more than De Sica addressed Italy's postwar depression. Both films concentrate on the people within their frames; neither provides a handy "villain."

But what, if anything, is "A Better Life" trying to say? Its sympathy for Carlos is overwhelming, almost indignant; its problematic ending feels celebratory, not objective. Transcending politics is one thing, but ignoring the issues is another.