Mi vida loca (1993)

Director:

Allison Anders

Writer (WGA):

Allison Anders (written by)

Release Date:

15 July 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Mothers. Warriors. Sisters. Survivors.

Plot:

Mousie and Sad Girl are childhood best friends in a contemporary Los Angeles poor Hispanic neighborhood...

Plot Keywords:

Hispanic | Los Angeles California | Dead Boy | Murder | Girl Gang

Cast

Angel Aviles	...	Sad Girl
Seidy Lopez	...	Mousie
Jacob Vargas	...	Ernesto
Devine	...	Devine
Monica Lutton	...	Chucky
Christina Solis	...	Baby Doll
Panchito Gómez	...	Joker Bird (as Panchito Gomez)
Verónica Arellano	...	Stranger
Arthur Esquer	...	Shadow
Gabriel Gonzales	...	Sleepy
Ángelo Martínez	...	Rascal (as Angelo Martinez)
Nélida López	...	Whisper (as Nelida Lopez)
Magali Alvarado	...	La Blue Eyes
Jesse Borrego	...	El Duran
Marita De Leon	...	River Valley Girl

Also Known As:

My Crazy Life

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:R | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Echo Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Channel Four Films

Trivia:

One of the cast members, Nica, died of a drug overdose a few months after shooting was completed. She left behind a two and a half year old son, which director Allison Anders subsequently adopted.

Quotes:

Sad Girl: When Mousie and me joined our gang, all the names were taken except Mousie and Sad Girl. Everyone said Maribel should be Mousie cuz she was so little. Sleepy said "No stupid because then we're gonna have to name Mona Sad Girl and she's not sad at all." Rascal said "Stupid , it don't matter." Sleepy was mad and kept saying "She's too happy to be Sad Girl."
[cut to Sad Girl sitting in a chair with a baby in her lap]
Sad Girl: "But they don't say that to me no more."

Soundtrack:

Crooked Is the Path

Doesn't hit all the right targets, but dramatically effective

"Mi Vida Loca" is a documentary-like approach to examining the lives of Hispanic girls in Echo Park. The film is never over-dramatized. The dialogue is authentic, and never stylized, and so are the performances. The story never takes the predictable Hollywood route. However, it still could've used more structure. At first I thought the film's focus was on the character of Sad Girl. About 15-20 minutes through, the focus changes to another character and the same pattern occurs throughout the film. So I didn't feel as connected to the film as I expected. If the characters and situations were unrealistic, I would be totally disengaged, but that wasn't the case and as a result, I was still entertained and moved. Almost all the scenes take place in apartments, sidewalks and parks, so it's obvious that the film was made on a low-budget, but that small budget was put to good use and I give Allison Anders much credit.

My score: 7 (out of 10)