It’s been a few years since Alejandro González Iñárritu has been in the director’s chair, and after his post-Babel falling out with former co-writer and collaborator Guillermo Arriaga, he is now back with a new Spanish-language film called Biutiful that he has co-written with Armando Bo and Nicolás Giacoboner. It premiered at Cannes this week, and seems to be generating mixed reviews. The film stars Javier Bardem as a man involved in the illegal sweatshop underworld of Barcelona who is trying support his children but is ultimately forced to confront the morality of his situation.

It’s the first film that Inarritu has done that has not been staggered chronologically (something that was clearly more of an Arriaga trademark), so it should make an interesting case study for the people who have argued that his previous films would be a lot less interesting without a fractured narrative. The jury is still out on who was the true talent of their previous collaborations, but based on the way that Arriaga’s The Burning Plain was ignored, it seems like most people are siding with Inarritu on this one. Either way, I’m curious to check out Biutiful, if and when it finds a distributor. A short promo reel has found its way online this week, and although it doesn’t show much, it does hint at the tone of the film. Check out the video after the jump and see what you think.