Shia LaBeouf -- Mum About Cabaret Arrest

EXCLUSIVE

Shia LaBeouf would not talk about his recent NYC arrest Sunday afternoon at LAX ... or maybe the actor was just confused by our photog's mush mouth line of questioning.

Shia was making his way through the airport with a friend when our photog tried to ask about the arrest.

Our photog did have an interesting concept ... with all of Shia's hijinx over the last year, is he going through a Britney-like meltdown -- or is this just Joaquin Phoenix-esque performance art?

So, we gotta ask ...