Pelo Malo

'Pelo Malo' means 'Bad Hair' and Junior is a nine year old growing up in a slum project with his single parent mother. He finds it hard to fit in and is constantly mistreated by his mother; this same mother dotes on his baby brother – who happens to have straight hair. Junior has curly hair – but apparently the absent father is the same for both of them.

His mother works for poverty wages and is not averse to doing anything to get her old job back as a security guard. Meanwhile poverty sticks to everything around Junior like a bad smell in towering estates that are all concrete and hopelessness – he still manages to dream and see some beauty with the help of his little girl friend. He also wants to be a singer with straight hair and will try any old wives tale to make his curls go straight.

This is an unusual film that was said to be a Venezuelan 'Precious' and I can see some parallels but little more than that. It is not a film that will have you 'skyping home' but it will make you think. The cinematography is actually quite good too, but the story did feel a bit padded at times – still it is good to see South America tackling issues of mixed race families, poverty and crime.

Mariana Rondon's film, Pelo Malo (Bad Hair) is a camera that extends to the lives of Venezuelan people who seek their own identity and sub consciousness at the root of racism. At the same time, the film also shares concerns about the impending Venezuelan political uncertainty. The film is being made and released amidst rumors of Hugo Chavez's illness. Mariana Rondon is the director of the 2007 International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) Award-winning film "Postcards from Leningrad".In 1966. She studied cinema in Paris and was the first batch student at the film school in Cuba. After a few short films, she formed her own production company, and in 2000 released her first feature film, 'At Midnight and Half' with Marietta Yugas. Her first independent film was the 2013 release, "Pelo Malo". All her films have attracted the attention of critics around the world and received countless awards. The film not only brings to the fore the racial sentiment that is inherent in Venezuelan life, but also concerns the Venezuelan people's concern about the fascist trend that Chavez's imminent death might have in Venezuela. The main characters in the film are Martha, a widow, and their son, Junior, and Junior's friend La Nina. Martha's second child, her mother and her neighbor are also in the movie. Junior with Bad Hair, like all other Venezuelans, have inferiority complex over his hair. He's worried about getting his hair straight for his photo to be submitted at the school at the time of opening. The mother has often mistaken her passion for this hair as a homosexual. They often consult the doctor for that. Martha, however, lwading a life contrary to the society's expectation about a woman to be. She does the security work that only men do. Even though she is dismissed from the job she refused to take any other employment. The film addresses the Venezuelan people's concerns about the future of power of Venezuela, especially in the context of Chavez's "predicted" death. It is implied by Lanina's fear of rape. She occasionally tells Junior that she will be raped. Her eagerness should be seen as a dread of the Venezuelan people over their fear of Fascism. Sex and fascism are such an intertwined duality. The film also enriches the gender gap that existed among Venezuelans. While dismissing Martha from security job he says that a woman cannot work in security. The film shows us Venezuela's labor and housing problems, also shows the extraordinary love of the Venezuelan people with Chavez. The film shows the crowds worshiping Chavez for the longevity of his life by shaving their head. No ruler in the world can get such love from the people. There are rare movie that shows human relationships so beautifully. This 93-minute film in Spanish is also written by Mariana Rondan . Samuel Lanke Zambrano played the beautiful role as junior. Samantha Castillo was cast as Martha and Maria Emilia Zulbarran as La Nina acted beautifully. There are rare beautiful movies showing the political and cultural situation of Latin America at the present context.

This film is excellent. The acting, the story telling, and the productions values are all very high. I think a previous reviewer had the impression that the film should address more head on the subject of growing up black. But I can tell you as someone who is from Venezuela and now lives in the US, that's not a subject that it's discussed much in Venezuela. So I believe you're coming at it from your experience of growing up in the US. I bet if you were to ask the little boy in the film if he considers himself black, he would say no. The way this film tackles ethnicity and socioeconomic disparities is very subtle and that's why I believe it's so effective. Venezuela is a country obsessed with beauty pageants, and as many we have accepted that "straight hair" is the definition of beauty. I myself grew up believing I had "Pelo Malo." I now of course love my hair just the way it is. That was a wonderful tool the filmmaker chose to illustrate a symbol of not belonging. For me this film is mostly an exploration of motherhood. Mothers are supposed to be perfect, but how can you be when you're so focused on just surviving? I never once doubted that in the film the mother deeply loves her children, she's just making the choices she believes she has to make in her situation, even though sometimes those choices were plainly wrong.

I had high hopes for this movie, believing that it would address the issue of finding one's identity and coming of age as a hispanic person, no matter what complexion you are. This movie is the Spanish language version of the movie Precious. The intended audience is mostly likely middle to upper class whites, to invoke empathy and disgust for the plight this boy faces and the abuse he endures from the people closest to him.

This movie has very little to do with "Pelo Malo" or bad hair, and is mostly about a boy who grows up with very little parental supervision or guidance, and always ends up in situations where older adults are trying to take advantage of him sexually and force him into certain abnormal gender roles (aka being tricked into becoming homosexual). I'm probably going to catch a lot of flak here for saying this, but this is a movie about underage sexual child abuse and neglect. If you're into that sort of thing, then this movie is for you(imho, this movie should be banned or come with a stern warning at best). If you're looking for an intellectually stimulating movie that touches on issues of race and coming to terms with one's identity, steer clear of this movie. It will leave you shaking your head. It is a bewildering roller coaster ride of sexual innuendo involving children, and ultimately, very depressing and anti-climatic.

Nothing uplifting about this movie. Long, depressing (and cruel) ...with a disappointing ending. Should have been called "Bad Movie."