Bad Hair

Bad Hair

Nine-year-old Junior (Samuel Lange Zambrano) lives in a housing project in Caracas, Venezuela, and wants to straighten his wild curls. He puts mayonnaise and oil on his hair and has a hard time combing it through. He tries out his grandmother’s blow dryer. Junior’s mother Marta (Samantha Castillo), harried and fatigued, sees her son’s fixation with his hair as an ominous sign. More often than not when she looks at him it is with disgust.

His hair comes from his Black father who is no longer around. Marta has another child by what seems like yet another father, and this baby has long straight hair. Marta dotes on the baby while Junior watches from the next room over. If only he had straight hair, maybe then his mother would love him back.

Mariana Rondón’s “Bad Hair” is a stark and often brutal look at one boy’s pre sexual awakening of identity and its impact on his life. What does it mean to know who you are before you understand what that will mean? Populated with completely naturalistic performances, and a stunningly observed relationship between mother and son (phenomenal scenes together), “Bad Hair” works by keeping its focus on the small details of everyday rhythms of life.

“Bad Hair,” shot by Micaela Cajahuaringa in an intensely realistic way, depicts an overcrowded world that is loud and chaotic where there is no time for people to think amid such noise. There isn’t even room to breathe; poverty and overcrowding grind people down. Cars clog highways while gigantic decaying tenement buildings loom high amongst vast swathes of basketball courts or parking lots surrounding them.

Junior stands on his balcony early in the film beside his best friend (Maria Emilia Sulbaran) staring across at the wall of windows opposite theirs packing sheer sea upon sea of diverse humanity stacked atop each other showing themselves off through these panes like some kind strange juiced-up fish tank for bored kids too lazy to walk over but curious enough not to just ignore their neighbors entirely either because hey they are children after all! They don’t understand everything but they see all.

In one early scene rowdy boys break dance blasting music throughout their housing complex until eventually our hero can’t help himself any longer watching them from afar having fun when suddenly something takes hold inside him causing him sway slowly close eyes raise arms as if possessed by spirits beyond this realm which would be totally fine except those spirits seem really hip-hop jaggedy so understandably Marta walks up seizes grips yanks away demands why does he have dance like that? “I don’t know,” says Junior.

School is about to start, and everyone needs to take ID photos at school for which Junior must have straightened hair according to him while constantly daydreaming along with little friend who also thinks nothing wrong loves own curly locks adorning various styles using clips barrettes plopping down watching beauty pageants together all day long until eventually locking bathroom door experimenting furious banging different products against door said mother outside begging child let me use bathroom please my god!

Marta’s angry, uptight demeanor could be the reason for her unemployment. She is being investigated for some sort of misconduct and she wants her job back in a hurry. Marta either drops Junior and the baby off with a neighbor or, more begrudgingly, Junior’s paternal grandmother Carmen (Nelly Ramos). Carmen encourages all the parts of Junior that Marta hates.

She plays pop songs for him, dances around singing into a hairbrush and straightens his hair for him too, warning him to wet it before Marta arrives to pick him up. The two women exchange wary scenes of mutual distrust. Carmen proposes that Junior come live with her permanently: “He likes to look nice and dress up,” she says bluntly. “You don’t like that.”

Junior is subject to the whims of the surrounding adults. Marta is unpredictable; rough and nasty one moment, indifferent and impatient the next but then suddenly tender and loving out of nowhere. To deal with his mother is like tiptoeing through a minefield, which is why when she lashes out at Junior he flinches not understanding what he did wrong.

In trying to do what she thinks is best for Junior, Marta makes her most terrible unforgivable choice ever this has even been noticed by her former boss who comments on how contemptuously she treats junior (“I need to be a role model for my kids”), but doesn’t realize it herself (Samantha Castillo plays this extremely unpleasant complex role fearlessly).

But Marta battles wills with junior locked in constant conflict because they have each other’s hair as symbols belonging much larger issues which are sensed by Mama but which little boy cannot understand because he is still too young. It’s a macho rough world where mothers think their sons are too feminine so innocent crushes become very sinister developments indeed!

Actually all junior wants straight hair so he can look fabulous in school photos while struggling towards blossoming & becoming himself again now after so long! Little Samuel Lange Zambrano gives us an entirely new vision here: His eyes stare at mom sewing on couch without blinking forever showing complete universes inside himself filled with betrayal sadness longing etc. this kid acts like nobody else I know!

Filmed slow/steady hand held docu-style realism style non-traditional narrative storytelling succeeds brilliantly thanks to its unconventionality Bad Hair does not play by traditional rules but somehow works even better as a result! Scenes between marta/junior often shot continuously over lengthy periods exhibit rich behavioral content such as sharp glances mixed moods sudden shifts moments violence spontaneity surprises unrehearsed feelings reactions among performers at any given time during filming process which creates dangerous atmosphere similar energy flow around living wire coiled infinite times within confined space throughout room created by Mariana Rondón about powerful human story concerning child’s selfhood development accompanied by bewildering awareness caused by adult hostility against innocent creatures who cannot understand why they should treat each other differently just because their skin color differs slightly beautiful things always seem ugly when looked closely enough from right angles especially if you’re not familiar yet enough yet therewith therefore watch carefully where step next time round your head might get chopped off along way down road leading nowhere fast unless something happens soon otherwise we’ll all die together alone someday soon enough so let us pray for peace love harmony joy happiness prosperity health wealth abundance success victory triumph glory fame fortune immortality everlasting life eternal bliss beatitude paradise heaven nirvana samadhi moksha satori kensho zion promised land.

“Bad Hair,” told slowly and deliberately with documentary-style realism, is not conventional storytelling but it works all the better for being such.

The scenes between Marta and Junior often play out in one take are rich with behavior: sharp glances exchanged; sudden mood changes (violent sometimes); spontaneous reactions caught on camera in real-time as if we were eavesdropping on their private world where anything can happen at any moment without warning danger lurks everywhere like electricity crackling through wires strung high above ground level across dark alleys teeming with restless souls seeking shelter under bridges spanning wide rivers flowing endlessly toward distant horizons beckoning travelers far away places unknown until now except perhaps dimly remembered dreams from childhood days long past buried deep within subconscious mind hidden behind thick walls built up over years spent living life day by day trying hard not think about anything too serious lest become overwhelmed by sheer magnitude enormity complexity interconnectedness everything else going on around us all at once simultaneously everywhere ever since beginning time itself created universe infinite number different realities existing parallel dimensions alternate timelines branching off main storyline diverging paths taken choices made decisions reached crossroads encounters fateful meetings destiny awaits every single person eventually sooner later whether they realize it know consciously aware fact existence lives lead different kinds gods play favorites sometimes favor certain individuals groups societies regions continents countries planets galaxies clusters superclusters voids empty spaces between stars outer realms beyond reach human imagination comprehension ability perceive reality beyond limits imposed upon us nature physical laws governing universe observable phenomena experiences encountered daily basis mundane trivial ordinary routine activities performed instinctively autopilot mode without conscious thought effort involved whatsoever whatsoever whatsoever.

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