Ottawa, Canada (LifeNews.com) -- The award-winning pro-life movie Bella will open in theaters across Canada today after taking home tremendous per-theater numbers in the United States. The movie stars Eduardo Verastegui and Tammy Blanchard and features a compassionate look at a crisis pregnancy.

The film finally heads to the great white north after it was named the people's choice at the 2006 Toronto film festival.

The movie features an honest look at how to deal with an unexpected pregnancy as Verastegui character Jose helps his friend Nina, played by Blanchard.

"I can't even take care of myself. How am I gonna take care of a kid?" Nina says as she confronts a problem young women deal with on a daily basis.

Directed by newcomer Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, Bella is a warm movie that is already earning strong reviews from Canadian media.

The Toronto Sun called it the "feel good movie of the week" and notes, "The filmmakers wanted to counter the usual negative Latino stereotype that mainstream movies often provide and show their Mexican culture in a positive light, and they succeed in that effort 100%."

"If you have an appetite for well-made treacle, then Bella should go down a treat," the Toronto Globe and Mail says.

The Toronto Star calls Bella a "delight" and says it "breaks the rigid Hollywood rules for moviemaking, which means a film that is better written and crafted than most studio projects."

"For once, one doesn't feel the tears have been wrung out of us. This is not a weepy, but a story about healing, forgiveness and redemption," the newspaper adds.

The film cost just $3.3 million to make and it grossed nearly $8 million since its release last fall to enthusiastic American audiences.

Though it appeared on just 10 percent of the number of screens as top competitors, Bella grossed several times more per screen than some of the top-rated movies during the same time period.

To purchase a DVD copy of the movie, visit this web site.

Related web sites:
Bella - http://www.bellathemovie.com