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A former soccer star (Eduardo Verástegui) leads a quiet life as a cook at a restaurant run by his brother (Manny Perez) until he meets a struggling waitress (Tammy Blanchard) in need of help.

Big question: How did this movie win the audience award at the 2006 Toronto film festival?

Skip it: This strangely inert drama offers little more than a couple of “big” dramatic revelations that play more like audition tapes than fully realized scenes. There’s a sweetness (or is it a naiveté?) to the film’s optimistic outlook on life, but without a standout performance or a compelling story the entire project is so slight you practically forget you’ve seen it before it’s even over.

Catch it: If you’re trying to figure out why some people call Verástegui the “Brad Pitt of Mexico.” The full beard he sports here makes him look more like Mexico’s answer to Jim Caviezel in “The Passion of the Christ.” (Which may or may not be intentional. The film is trying to rally grassroots support among Christian audiences, although there’s nothing overtly religious about it.)

Bottom line: “Bella” is destined to be remembered only for the confusion it causes in anyone who sees it sandwiched between the far superior “Tsotsi” and “Eastern Promises” on a list of Toronto’s People’s Choice picks.

Bonus: Ali Landry, best known as the “Doritos girl” from a 1998 Super Bowl ad, has an uncommonly dramatic supporting role as a young mother faced with unexpected tragedy. She also happens to be married to the movie’s director. Draw your own conclusions…

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