When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

"Carla's Song" tells of a quixotic Glasgow bus driver (Carlyle) who befriends a troubled Nicaraguan refugee (Cabezas) and embarks upon an odyssey in which she must stare down the demons of her past. A gritty, visceral, and very human cross-culture drama, "Carla's Song" builds depth into its characters and realism into the film as it explores Carla's past through the ravages of Nicaragua's civil war (Circa 1978ish) searching for the resolution she so desperately needs. An excellent watch for realists into foreign films. (B+)NOTE: The DVD I watched has no CC and only a part of the Spanish language dialogue was subtitled which, combined with accents, dialects, and slang in both Scotland and Nicaragua, made for language problems which interfered with the enjoyment of the film.

(SPOILER) So Carla will stay there, with her disfigured, mute ex-lover. This was not a surprise, and was not interesting. When I say not a surprise, I don't mean it in a praising way or to call it organic or inevitable given the rest of the story. It's inevitable and predictable only from the viewpoint of the script's very dutiful political consciousness. It wouldn't be noble, uplifting, inspiring, etc. etc., for Carla to opt out of the struggle and go back to Scotland with George.Please let me be clear, I am not objecting to the script's sympathy and engagement with the Sandinistas. I am not objecting to a film having a political outlook, nor do I object to that outlook being on the Left (which is my own standpoint anyway). What I do object to is conditioning the characters' choices according to an imposed external view of what is okay, rather than what has been developing in the story.

I will always recommend a picture that reflects the reality of a place, and Carla's Song shows Nicaragua very authentically. That, in addition the fact that the film was a quality piece overall. You will see the Nicaragua that I saw, very faithfully represented (I'm not talking about the politics, an issue I will stay away from. Just the reflection on the feel of the country.) As the story developed in Scotland, I said to myself "I just know this is going to turn into a hokey travelogue when they get to Nicaragua". But that's not what happened. Bravo!

It is easy to overlook this Ken Loach film. Critics had not been so kind about the excellent Land and Freedom as they had been in the past, and Carla's song didn't fare that well either. It seems difficult to understand why. The inimicable brand of social realism is there as is the focus on the experiences and emotions of the individual. There is even the trademark visual in-joke.More than any other character in the recent past I cared for Carla. All performances are exceptional. What we have here is social realism that expands into political statement and ultimately human tragedy.If at all possible, try to see this film. Carlisle's broad Scottish accent may make it difficult to follow for the non-initiated, but persevere, and you will be rewarded.