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:

Jason Lee's film debut.

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:

Run, Catch & Kill

Bittersweet tale of life in the Echo.

This is a very interesting film about the girls who hang out with the gangbangers in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The focus shifts from one character to another, but the story is pretty much always told from the viewpoint of the girls.

This movie is bittersweet to me because it documents much of the tragedy surrounding the senseless killings on the street but it also offers a vision of hope. The characters in the film are shown as real human beings - the director used a mix of actors and real people from the neighborhood. It's sad to see how innocent many of them are yet how easily the violence comes.

Don't think this is just all shootings and beatings. It's mostly about the neighborhood and the people in it, and that's where the sweet in bittersweet comes from. Even amid all the tragedy, men and women hook up with each other, babies are born, life goes on. It's not the melodrama of "West Side Story", it's more a poignant look at life in the Echo.

Production values lag at times but this is still a very fine movie and one of my favorites.