Boy meets girl. They spend one serendipitous day together. Then, he adopts her baby.

Bella, which opened yesterday in select theaters across the country, contained all the necessary elements for the perfect romantic comedy—a charming lunch at an outdoor café, a fun-loving meet-the-parents dinner, and a long walk along the beach. But instead of “happily ever after,” the film was a soul-wrenching hour and a half look at death, abortion, and redemption through the eyes of José (Eduardo Verástegui) a former Mexican soccer star who loses his glory and his dreams after he kills a young girl in a reckless driving accident, and Nina (Tammy Blanchard), a struggling waitress who finds herself pregnant and jobless on the same day. As Jose battles with his guilt, Nina grapples with the life growing inside of her.

Written and directed by Alejandro Monteverde and produced by Metanonia films, a new name in the independent film circuit with a mission to “make a meaningful difference in people’s lives,” Bella took the People’s Choice Award at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival and the Crystal Heart Award this year at the Heartland Film Festival.

Unapologetically pro-life and refreshingly realistic, Bella doesn’t shirk from the horrors of abortion, nor shy away from its straight-shooting adoption message. As Nina tells José that she plans to “take care of things,” José imagines her sobbing uncontrollably as she emerges from the abortion clinic. Flash forward about five years, Nina truly sobs when she meets Bella, the daughter Jose has been raising for her.

In the end, it’s a love story after all—a love story between a young man and a life worth rescuing; between a young woman and a life worth giving to another.