Joven y alocada

Graphic images however the strong sense of such issues are realistic

Young and Wild is a chaotic look at a teen girl's life as she struggles to find her identity personally, religiously, and sexually. I might have been more intrigued by it if the main character wasn't so obnoxious. Throughout the film she is entirely self-centered and does nothing to redeem herself in any satisfying way. I know there are teens who behave this way, in fact many would say this kind of self-centeredness is a defining characteristic of the teenage years, but I don't particularly want them as the protagonist of a film I'm watching. It's kind of infuriating how her continued selfish exploration of her own wants and needs begins by alienating her family, then proceeds to tear into the people she "loves." There were some interesting ideas to explore, particularly when it came to her dilemma over her confused sexual desires, but it wasn't handled all that well. The end of the film was easily the most infuriating part. It seems to just skew off in a strange direction for no logical reason, and then lacks a satisfying resolution for anyone. And, if I'm honest, the overt sexuality of the film isn't exactly my cup of tea either. I think Young and Wild could have been good, but didn't live up to its potential.

Living in the American South's Bible Belt, I am deeply familiar with the kind of intense religious bombardment the protagonist experienced -- it's pretty much par for the course for any place or subculture where religious fundies have a grip.

I thought the movie did an EXCELLENT job of portraying this aspect of the film. I thought maybe mother was a WEE bit over the top hateful and intrusive, not that I don't believe mothers like her exist, but that I think the filmmaker missed a big chance of portraying the way kindness can also be used as a tool for psychological manipulation.

The part the filmmaker UTTERLY screwed up was helping us understand the reason for the protagonist's rebellion. Was it adolescent angst, a healthy sexuality growing and rebelling against the repression, or just a healthy human response to the general repressiveness of evangelical beliefs? We have no idea, because the idiot filmmaker just gave us lots of shots of the lead actress looking sullen instead of any meaningful dialog that would have helped us UNDERSTAND the reason for all the sullenness. Of course, there was a lot of dialog with other young people on her blog that MIGHT have been illuminating, but it wasn't. It was just the usual shallow talk of normal teens about sex.

I was hoping for more depth, more insight, than a teen might have about the issues raised in the movie. I didn't get that. A shame, because without it, the movie is a real nothingburger.

"Joven y alocada" is a rare bird in its species, I believe. Coming from Chile, it is said to be a real story, told in first person and based on the experiences of a teenage blogger, who starts discovering her own sexuality while being raised in a very religious family (Evangelical).

It depicts a modern society in the "open-mindedness" and yearning for self-discovery of its young protagonists, who face the traditional side of society represented by austere religion. Daniela, the protagonist, experiments with love, trying to fit love for man, woman and Jesus in herself.

The movie integrates new technologies (blog entries, messenger chats) with the actual scenes, and it is innovative in this way, although it looks already a bit outdated, the way online interaction was in 2012. It includes a good deal of Chilean slang, especially words used online and among young people.

The soundtrack is a fundamental part of the movie too, with Chilean technopop star Javiera Mena's original songs and her covers of "Je ne regrette rien", "Sólo te pido la luna" and others.

These three elements (new technologies, the main story and the music) are beautifully wrapped with bright colors and details, it is easy to see the real person whose life and blog the movie reflects, was close to the making of the film and looked after its creation.

Despite the pros and the cons, me, I liked it. Very much! I saw it 3 times, to understand it better. First, I saw the Spanish version on You-tube, without subtitles, and I don't know Spanish perfectly. Very bold and very naturally interpreted by all actors. If you don't like the movie, because you are too puritanical and you will be shocked by the porn scenes, you will definitely like the music, abundant and very beautiful, especially the Spanish version of "Je ne regrette rien" by Edith Piaf, sung by Javiera Mena and the Italian song "No voglio mica la luna" originally performed by Fiordaliso, which became "Yo no te pido la luna", sung by the same Javiera Mena. Me, I'm young and wild even now, at 62.