Bedhead

I don't believe I knew of this short film before I got El Mariachi on DVD and found it among the special features. Rodriguez did it all by himself, with the cast consisting entirely of his siblings. The plot is simple and silly, but you find yourself watching it all, never particularly wanting it to end, and when it does, it hardly feels like any time has passed at all. Granted, not an awful lot of time *has* passed, but still. The pacing is perfect. The cinematography is great. The story-telling is relatively simple, but it works very well. Instead of giving up on having sound, or limiting it, on account of not having a camera that could record sound(I'm going to assume he did, as he describes having and using one such camera in making his feature debut, El Mariachi, which was made not long after this), Rodriguez creates all of the sound in post-production, and gives it a rather cartoon-y feel, one that is present in every facet of this production. The difficulty of dialog(as it must all be recorded separate from filming) is a problem he solves by making the dialog off-screen, and, whilst it is arguably a story-telling crutch, the narration works wonderfully well, and helps tell a story that could easily have taken far longer than 8 short minutes, ensuring a tight little short that does not overstay its welcome. The acting varies, but always works. The lead enunciates reasonably well, and good enough for all she says to be understood. The score, editing and camera angles create drama, and cheap effects sell the supernatural idea. There is some gross-out comedy, but very little. There is also some violence, and it is shown without the realistic outcome(not unlike, say, a Tom & Jerry cartoon). This short is undoubtedly created mainly for children, but adults can enjoy it too. You'll find the minutes flying by, and you may very well enjoy Rodriguez doing what he does best. I recommend this to any fan of Rodriguez, as well as children who have the sense of humor for it. 7/10

This is an Extra on the EL Mariachi DVD. It's a great film. It's almost like a troma movie for children. This alone is worth getting the Mariachi DVD. plus the price you get Mariachi and desperado on the same disc for cheap. or at least I did.

You know what is really fun? Choose a director you like, then trace the ideas you like about him back through two paths: the films by others that surely influenced him, and also back through his own earlier work. Like this.

I like Rodriguez. I do. I like the risks he takes, his proclivity to experiment, his notion about structure and reference in film. He is not yet on my "absolutely must see this" list but is well represented on the "worth watching" list.

The first "Spy Kids," "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," And his entry in "Four Rooms," showed a high degree of what I call folded, selfaware film-making. Spanish, without the prancing pretense of the French.

So go back with me to view this homemade short, featuring his kids and home videocam. It is simple, but you can already see his characteristic mix: Simple truths, including appropriate effects done cheaply. A world of magic. A world where children often center the narrative. A world where justice is built into the cosmos.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

This movie can also be found on the Special Edition DVD of El Mariachi, along with his 10 Minute Film School on how he made El Mariachi on a budget of $7,000 (USD). Good, fun, silly movie that shows the early genius of Robert Rodriguez. Rather frenetic at times, it represents a prime example of what has become "stereotypical" camera work by Robert Rodriguez. Using his brothers and sisters in the cast, it's perfect for those who have always dreamed of revenge on our siblings for whatever "crime" they committed against us or our toys, and for all those little idiosyncrasies our siblings have that drive us crazy. Don't take it too seriously and have fun with it. Whether a fan of Rodriguez' work or as an instructor in film technique, this movie is worth watching.

Bedhead (1991)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

This short film from Robert Rodriguez shows exactly what you can do with very little money but a lot of imagination. The story is about a little girl who is constantly being abused by her jerk older brother. His bad bedhead hair is where the title comes from and after being knocked to the ground the sister grows some special powers, which she is going to use to teach the brother a lesson.

I don't know what the budget of this film was but it's obviously very small yet the director manages to show off how much talent he has. I watch a lot of these shorts and more often than not they're good movies but ever so often you find one where you can watch and see that the director would have a future in cinema. This is such an example because the story itself is just so creative and it's done in such a fashion that you can't help but smile at the revenge and also be impressed with the technical quality of the production. There's some terrific editing and some great camera-work, two things that would become a staple for the director in future years.