Bala means bullet in Spanish and Miss Bala, an indirect remake of a Spanish film with the same title directed by Gerardo Naranjo, implies the bullet in its direct flight will get married to the titled character Gloria Fuentes, played by Jane the Virgin’s Gina Rodriguez. Virgin and bullet attached to AR15 do eventually find themselves in wedded bliss standing over the pleading supine body of the kingpin who kidnapped her into his drug cartel and is about to experience the most unattempted divorce for a forced marriage.
Divorce in this slightly feminist story of vindication from the tyranny of male macho means until the deathly bullet tears him apart. Spoiler alert: this is no spoiler— its all in the trailer.
The director, Twilight’s Catherine Hardiwicke stays true to her vampire roots by sucking the last drop of male characterization from the plot. In typical liberal Hollywood iteration it fights the over use of Hispanic cliches by delivering even more of them.
A movie about a woman trying to escape male macho domination, by having the woman triumph over them— male DEA goons included— is encased in a plot that involves a Miss Baja California beauty pageant. The Bala/Baja visual rhyming is the most subtle thing Miss Bala has to offer.
Miss Bala is best appreciated as a feminist satire since Gina Rodriguez’s Fuentes is the only character without any MAGA-rude. Hollywood doesn’t need to give more excuses for Trump to build his wall.
Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
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