Blue My Mind

Teenage years are a time of change, perhaps more so for girls than boys. It is also a time in life where identity and fitting in are important. In Blue My Mind Mia is starting a new school at age 15. Eager to fit in she steps out of her comfort zone and tries to join the bimbo clique. The clothes maketh the bimbo. Well, actually more than the clothes there is also the smoking, drinking, an overt interest in boys etc. The more she fits in with the new crowd the more distant she becomes from her parents.

She also has her first period, something that her parents haven't prepared her for*. Things go from awkward to worse as the next day 2 of her toes are stuck together, a portent for more change. So what starts as a teen angst movie develops another angle. How Mia copes with these changes is like the stages of grief: she goes through bewilderment, challenge, denial, anger and finally acceptance.

One thing that works well in this film is that the filmmaker avoids the trap of exposition. Things are left unexplained.

For me, it is difficult not to draw comparisons between Blue My Mind and Ginger Snaps from 2000. Both are movies about teenage girls coping with unnatural changes beyond their control. Blue My Mind has a lot less gore and more teenage angst. In fact, unlike Ginger Snaps, it is not really a horror film. It is also much prettier, with better camera work. In both films, the protagonist eventually embraces the changes, but Mia resists the changes happening to her for much longer than Ginger, she also has less support from friends and family.

This is one of those films where the trailer gives too much of the plot away.

* I think the first period at age 15 and lack of parental preparation were just thrown in to make other bits of the plot work.

Ian's rating 3.5/5