BAD HAIR

Junior is a precocious 9-year-old boy living in the housing projects of Caracas who wants nothing more than to straighten his head of tight curls for his yearbook photo. A desire that borders on obsession, it stirs homophobic panic in his mother, Marta, who is overtaxed from losing her husband, raising two children, and attempting to find a job. As she sharply recoils at Junior’s self-expression and abrasively acts to correct his behavior, Junior manages to find acceptance (and straight hair) in the company of his loving grandmother. From Venezuelan writer-director Mariana Rondon and featuring newcomer Samuel Lange in a beautifully standout performance, Bad Hair is a painfully tender coming-of-age drama about a boy caught in a maelstrom of identity and intolerance.

-Liza Domnitz