[MOTORHEAD]

FF: BDR door latches are crap. They're modified commercial freezer latches ( or something equally unlikely). To make them fit, they grind off the tail of one of the rivets that holds the whole thing together. Sometimes that allows too much slop in the mechanism and the gear at the other end of the lever disengages from the latch. If all else fails, remove the hinge cover (one screw) and remove the 4 bolts holding the door. (have someone to help hold the door) and see if this doesn't give you better acess to the latch. I seem to remember releasing the latch by pushing down on a part of the linkage at the bottom of the latch.
Worst case scenairo: pull out the interior panel at the rear of the door too access the nut that holds the striker pin and remove it, and pull the door et al out so you can work with it on the bench. You should be able to remove the latch from the door at this point and determine the problem. If the car is in warranty,get a new one from BDR.