NYFF 2011: Miss Bala (2011)

Let me not beat around the bush, I think this is one of the stupidest films of the year. It's a film that makes no logical sense from the get go and makes less it goes on.

This is being picked as a shoe in for at the very least on Oscar nomination.

Really?

Are these people seeing the same film as me?

Apparently.

(The next three paragraphs are all spoilers)

The plot of the film concerns Laura, a beauty contest wanna be. She and her friend manage to get themselves into a beauty contest. Before they can go buy a dress the friend's boyfriend shows up and she goes off to party with him. Laura tracks them down at a club and tries to talk her friend into leaving. While in the bathroom a bunch of drug dealers come in and kill a good many of the people in the place. Laura escapes in part because the head bad guy takes a shine to her and tells her to just leave.

The next day Laura tries to find her friend but can't do so. Distraught she turns to a traffic cop who turns her over to the drug dealers. The drug dealer takes a bigger liking to her and asks her to drive a car and leave it where he tels her. She does so...

As the film goes on we get some bizarre turns of fate as Laura's house is taken over, she's used as a mule for money, gets involved in a fire fight, and wins a beauty contest (the last three on a single day), raped, used as bait for a traitor, gets involved in another fire fight, is set up, arrested, paraded in front of the media and then dumped on a street handcuffed.

(End the major spoilers)

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I wanted to leave, but I found that every time I started to get up some whacked out twist happens and I stayed because I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

None of this makes sense.

First off how stupid is Laura to begin with? Is she that out of touch at the start Apparently. In a city where the cops are better armed than many armies and the sky is filled with the smoke of their clashes she seems to be rather oblivious to what's going on. Worse she continually does stupider and stupider things...like going back to the drug dealer when she was free.

And there are other things that don't make sense, for example the drug dealers continuously drag Laura along. In the middle of a fire fight they go to great length to drag her along. Why? To protect themselves? She knows nothing? Simply because if they don't the film stops.

Laura signs up for a beauty contest and wins it two days later...two days despite needing to learn dance steps...and never mind how she just steps into the event...huh?

And if someone can explain the bedroom shoot out let me know since I have to no idea what happens...it makes no sense. (actually none of this does)

I know some one is going to say that the film is just a metaphor, and I say nertz to you. Even a metaphor has to make sense on some level, here it doesn't. (as for it being based on a real story, maybe but they drained the reality from it)

What is it suppose to be, everyone is corrupt?

Bah.

The good characters are simply too stupid. The bad guys aren't that much better. I don't blame the actors who are good, I blame the writer and director who came up with this mess.

The only thing I can say is that the bridge shoot out is great, but everything else is just jaw droppingly stupid.

I know some of you may say I'm missing something, or that I don't get it. But trust me I do, I really do. I just can't forgive the film its numerous omissions and stupid turns (and they are stupid, watch the film and see what happens and you tell me its not dumb). This is one of the stupidest films of the year.

Stupid? Does that mean it's bad? Yes, because it's so illogical that anything that might be good is wrecked by the stupidity.

Avoid this one...and let's hope this doesn't get noticed by Oscar.