BAD HAIR ***
There’s something quite unusual about 9 year-old Junior. Perhaps his perceptions, revealed while playing with a friend could describe his behavior: from the top of a gigantic building, divided by tiny spaces, they observe the residents, surviving as they can amidst the poverty suffocating their lives. Junior and his friend look profoundly at these people on the other side of the same ‘boat’ guessing how they’re spending the day. This scene is able to represent the way Junior looks at the world; as he’s observing these people’s actions, he’s also looking to understand the world around him, and that includes his mother, his baby brother, the estranged grandmother, the closest kids in the neighborhood and himself. While they’re enjoying their school vacation, Junior is gradually learning of himself, obsessed with keeping a good appearance, especially his various attempts of straighten up his curly hair. His biggest challenge will unexpectedly be his own mother, as she can’t deal with his inverted behavior, treating him with insults and intolerance, which she believes is the best choice to help the kid. Junior prefers to dance on the ballerina rhythms instead of the popularized hip-hop; His mother despicably observes him dancing on a bus, creating more confusion about the kid’s sexuality, when by accident he touches a man. When his grandmother insists he should wear a star jacket that looks like a dress, he gets upset and yells back that’s he’s a boy and boys wouldn’t wear that. This revelation on his personality, despite his ambiguous interest on an athletic older boy, demonstrates the conflict of sexuality battling in his mind. His mother brings a man home, and makes sure Junior watches them, while performing sex, and that’s the way she finds to show the kid how “lovable” is a relationship between a man and a woman. Director Mariana Rondón makes an incredible and profound study on the subject, focusing on the turbulent relationship between mother and son, but also exploring Venezuela’s political and economic crisis with the poverty as a backdrop, as the mother is facing financial despair and is willing to do anything to get her job as a vigilant back. The camera follows her through the tumultuous and grey city, filled with anxiety and exhaustion mixed to the graffiti of political messages, as she attempts to survive. The credit for such a skilled work also goes to the great performers: the mother and the boy are able to shatter all emotions and their conflict is mesmerizing. While she’s building a hopeless woman haunted by the lack of opportunities, the kid is cultivating his innocence as long as he can.
DVD: TO KILL A MAN
Set against a criminal area in Chile, this gripping thriller exposes the lack of security and the silence of those who live among thugs. An ordinary man in confronted by a maniac who continuously threatens his family. He maintains his temper, even though authorities won’t investigate his complaints, but he’s about to lose it. Directed by Alejandro Fernandez Almendras, the film is narrated with increasingly intensity that creates a dark and stylized atmosphere of fear while depicting modern violence. (On DVD by Film Movement) HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
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