If you like a lot of conversation then Mia isi rateaza razbunarea (or Mia Misses Her Revenge) delivers and does not mince words in doing so–this movie has a lot to say socially, and along the way, it is brought to life by colorfully uninhibited performances from its actors who were given a candid and sexually-charged script penned by the film’s screenwriter and director Bogdan Theodor Olteanu.

The structure and pacing of Mia Misses Her Revenge is interesting, it is not an anthology, that is to say, a series of shorts strung together, not in the slightest, in fact, it is a narrative feature much like many of the other films at Slamdance Film Festival 2021. However, to me, Mia Misses Her Revenge is scene after scene of conversations centered around Mia and her dealing with her very recently ended, tumultuous relationship. Each scene was marked by a very straightforward and simple framing of the characters but had such intimate dialogue that some of the more heated exchanges felt like improv, and perhaps it was, as the relationships felt authentic from beginning to end.

Mia Misses Her Revenge stars Ioana Bugarin as love-jilted Mia, a young burgeoning actress. When one evening she arrives home late to her boyfriend, they have a heated argument that ends with her boyfriend slapping Mia across the face, and ultimately, with a messy breakup. Accused of infidelity, Mia moves back in with her mother and eventually decides that she may as well lively freely, set free from her sexually controlling boyfriend. Mia and comes up with a plan to send her ex-boyfriend a video recording of her getting it on with someone new, and along with some help from her best friend, sets out on a mission to find a guy willing to do the job on camera.

The lighting for Mia Misses Her Revenge was much brighter than the central character’s mood, posing a stark contrast of aesthetics with the actual tone of the film. Set in Romania, the sunny homes and vibrant evenings out around town made the movie feel light despite the protagonist going through emotional and physical abuse in her relationship. The film manages this uplifting spirit without much use of music along the way, primarily leaning on the cast, a troupe of beautiful femme totales (rather than femme fatales) who showed the strength found in platonic relationships and the liberation discovered in exercising autonomy over the use of one’s body.

What starts out as a personal quest becomes a bit of an obsession, with director Bogdan Theodor Olteanu and Ioana Bugarin brilliantly capturing the transformation of the character Mia in moments caught on a simple Sony camera. At times the film alternated between third-person and first-person point-of-view, which complimented Mia’s back and forth internal struggle in dealing with whether should she forgive or forget her abusive and controlling boyfriend. Mia Misses Her Revenge is not quite the vengeful thriller that its title may imply, but it is certainly a movie that has its character come full circle, and not before having a liberating and sensual journey leading up to her resolution.

Mia Misses Her Revenge is currently playing at Slamdance 2021.

6.75 out of 10 Amusing Cow Discussions