Title: Miss Bala
Release Date: February 1, 2019
View Time: February 10, 2019 - 4:35 P.M.
Running Time: 104 minutes
Format & Location: Standard - London SilverCity Masonville Mall
"I'm not giving up on my family." - Well, isn't that the phrase that I keep hearing from Dom in Fast & Furious franchise?
I might be slow... but I'm not giving up! It has been A MONTH since I post a review here, and let me tell you, I originally planned to have this one up during reading week (the ten days after my review for Escape Room was up), but it got delayed since I was working on an assignment for Women Filmmakers class (which I did really well on). Just to let you know, there will be times like this when I am in a writing slump because of school and other stuff, then come back having to catch up on 9(!) reviews, but these will get caught up somehow, and I do NOT intend to quit!
Last Friday was International Women's Day, and I have to admit Hollywood is pushing towards producing more women's pictures every year. Part of the goal in my Women Filmmakers class is to look at how female directors in different countries present women (and men) on screen. Out of all the movies I have seen in theatres in the past few weeks, more than half of them feature women as the strong protagonist, and today let's start with another of Sony's less commercially successful picture in the New Year - Miss Bala!
[SPOILERS START IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH]
Miss Bala (2019) is an American remake of the 2011 Spanish film, and it's directed by Catherine Hardwicke (aka. the director of the first Twilight - the only one that I've watched and enjoyed fully!). The story follows Latin-American makeup artist Gloria Fuentes as she travels from LA to Mexico to help her friend Suzu with beauty pageant. However, things take a dramatic turn when Gloria is trying to find Suzu the morning after a gunmen breakout in the nightclub that separates the two friends. Gloria is quickly taken by Las Estrellas, the gang that is responsible for the incident in nightclub, and she has been pushed to participate in various criminal activities with the gang in order to save her friend. During her journey, Gloria also encounters DEA officers who have instructed her to play undercover in Las Estrellas. Finally, Gloria makes a fateful decision for herself on the night of the beauty pageant (that the gang has enrolled her in) and goes back home safely with Suzu.
In the review from The National Post (click the image on this page for the link), Miss Bala is considered as a combination of Miss Congeniality (premise of going undercover in beauty pageant) and Sicario (linking to drugs and Mexico). Since I haven't seen either of these movies, I was able to watch this newest creation by Sony with a fresh set of eyes. But still, I swear I can think a bunch of movies with a double-crossing plot, which definitely decreases my appreciation for the storyline of this movie. For some reasons, when I was sitting in theatre, I continuously want to relate this movie to Runner, Runner (which I also have not seen but knows the story well enough to spot the similarity), a story about a graduate student that gets stuck between gambling criminal organization and FBI during his time in Costa Rica. So, there is nothing new about the story here, moving on...
Gloria's development is somewhat intriguing and is definitely a salvage from the thin storyline. Despite the fact that she has been told what to do by others around her for the most part, she is not exactly the typical victim. She can be fierce when she is focusing on the goal of saving her friends, and she knows when to make demands. Obviously, we see her tough side during the final act where she has the most agency, but her soft spot for others is definitely the most memorable part. She helps Lino (one of the members in Las Estrellas) to get away when he is injured during a shootout with DEA, and let's not forget her facial expressions when she witnesses the death of Isabel because of her actions the day after their first encounter. Sony is really smart in choosing the female lead this time! Gina Rodriguez has won and nominated for numerous awards for her portrayal of the title role in Jane the Virgin. Her name is advertised in bold in the trailer, in an attempt from Sony to gain more support from audience. But when you place in a star in a relatively generic storyline, sometime it works, and sometimes it doesn't. And I find that you will appreciate this movie a lot more if you can give it a chance and take some time to observe Rodriguez's star performance.
One thing that strikes me the most about Miss Bala is its twist and turns... in both storylines and cinematic techniques. When Gloria wakes up one morning, Lino dragged her to an open field, at a moment which everyone expects to be some form of confrontation, but instead it is a survival lesson for Gloria on how to shoot bullets ("Bala" is the Spanish word for "bullet"). The whole movie is generally disorienting but realistic, so some anti-climatic moments (and touching moments like the family barbecue) really help to settle down the mood a bit before things take a wrong turn again. Speaking of disorienting and realistic, I can tell that most of the shots (especially the interactions between Gloria and Las Estrellas) are done with a handheld camera since the images move around in a slightly disorienting manner (creating a shaky kind of effect), I'm sure that many movies have used this, but this is my first time noticing it! The camera also like to bring the characters' faces to an uncomfortably close range, and sometimes to some fairly exposed parts in female's upper body... I'll stop it there! With the camera moving around incredibly shaky and extremely close, you know that you're not watching The Favourite, where every shot is created with elegance and with a purpose. No, Miss Bala is something that is penetrating through the surface and exploring the mixed and unbalanced side of humanity in a disorientated way.
When I watched Wonder Woman in class, we were asked to discuss if this movie is sexist or feminist. So, I want to ask you (if you've seen the movie), is Miss Bala sexist or feminist? I mean, it is a hard question to answer, but it definitely has more feminist values than Wonder Woman (hey, at least Gloria didn't say "I believe in love" at the end, in fact, she shoots her short term "love interest" Lino since she thinks it is the right thing to do.) Don't know if you agree, but I think a movie is pro-feminist when female protagonists are able to make unbiased decision without any influences from stereotypes that try to place them into traditional gender roles. In other words, female characters have to be independent and not submit to a love interest, and that is what makes Miss Bala feminist more than sexist.
[END OF SPOILERS]
If it is not for its redundant storyline, its limited release, poor Box Office performance, and some critics already calling it a contender for worst movie of 2019, Miss Bala could have a chance to be in the Women Filmmakers course next year! But regardless of what everyone say, we need more heroine like this. Gloria is not as strong as Ripley, and the movie is not as nearly interesting as Alien or Aliens (those two are already classics!). But for a strong portrayal of women on screen for the modern generation? This movie might just be good enough! It definitely needs more attention than it gets at this moment, and don't hesitate to add this movie to your list of movies that celebrate women.
Miss Bala is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
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