Bad Hair (2013)
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Bad Hair Movie Review
Bad Hair is a 2013 Venezuelan drama film directed by Mariana Rondon and starring Samantha Castillo and Samuel Lange Zambrano. It’s a powerfully acted and emotionally resonant drama.
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“You will turn him into a faggot“
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A nine-year-old boy’s preening obsession with straightening his hair elicits a tidal wave of homophobic panic in his hard-working mother. Set in the country’s capital Caracas, this movie has a lot on its mind. It has the type of seemingly simple, but nuanced and subtle storytelling that says a lot with little dialogue, which made the movie immensely cinematic and sophisticated.
The movie slightly touches upon the complex political situation in the country of Venezuela with all of its turmoil, but the mother-son relationship is at the core of its story. On the surface, their relationship is an abusive one where the mother is just a toxic, aggressive woman who is a terrible parent, but the film cleverly explored why she would behave like this.
Bad Hair depicts parental anxieties as stemming from other issues, which doesn’t excuse the behavior in the slightest, but it does provoke further discussion for sure. A single mother who struggles to make ends meet would undoubtedly lash out all of her anxieties on her children, which is exactly what happens in this story.
The movie also depicts truthfully just how homophobic mothers can be. Most often we would think of fathers being intolerant and rigid when it comes to their child’s sexuality, but almost as often mothers can be just as rigid. How she reacted to her child’s interest in music and straightening his hair was difficult to watch, which all led to that heartbreaking ending that concluded the movie with a true gut punch.
Samantha Castillo is incredible in the role of the frustrated mother. She was entirely believable in a role that was borderline villainous. Similar praise should be directed toward child actor Samuel Lange Zambrano, who delivered such a powerful performance that I was taken aback by how much acting talent this kid has.
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Mariana Rondon should be congratulated for eliciting such strong performances from her cast while the movie is also very well edited, paced and shot. I would have liked to have seen more of the supporting cast, especially the grandmother, but the mother and son’s conflict was superbly realized and explored. It’s at the end of the day quite an underrated movie that is one of the best foreign films of 2013.
Bad Hair is an emotionally draining, beautifully directed and wonderfully acted drama that takes a look at toxic parenthood and how badly it can impact children. It cleverly showcases how often poverty can lead to family issues. It’s a simple, but subtle and nuanced story that is thematically rich and heartbreaking in its very difficult ending.
My Rating – 4.5
This is the 1st film in my American Cinema Marathon where I will watch one film from each American country every day. Next up is 🇳🇮.
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