AllMovie

Filmmaker Andrés Wood offers a glimpse into the aspirations and disappointments of a handful of ordinary people from Santiago, Chile in this drama. Teresa (Aline Kuppernheim) is a social worker who counsels prostitutes about the importance of practicing safe sex with their clients. Unfortunately, her open minded thinking doesn't always extend to her family; her teenage daughter Paula (Manuela Martelli) is carrying her boyfriend's child but is afraid to tell her mother, and her husband regularly sees a prostitute for the affection he can't get at home. Elsewhere, a young man with a talent for music tries out for a place in a symphony orchestra; when he fails the audition, he joins the military and ends up playing clarinet in a marching band. A woman who needs to buy a car applies for a loan and falls in love with a manager from the bank; he's also infatuated with her, but neither has the courage to confess their feelings. And a traumatic event forces a hairdresser to look at his past, present and future. La Buena Vida (aka The Good Life) was an official selection at the 2009 San Francisco International Film Festival.