Quando eravamo fratelli

WE THE ANIMALS lulls you into thinking it's a mere memory piece. Much of the film is made up of short scenes that are more snatches in time, than anything resembling a tight narrative. Jeremiah Zagar's debut film follows three young Hispanic boys as they grow up in the 80s in upper state New York - Manny, Joel and Jonah (Evan Rosado; who also narrates). Their parents Ma (Sheila Vand) and Paps (Raul Castillo) struggle not only with making ends meet, but, also in their volatile relationship. Although the family has moved from NYC to the more bucolic rural suburbs, their move isn't necessarily a happy one.

While the film may seem formless at times, the vibrantly shot and directed segments (lots of hand-held; grainy earthy 16mm film stock), accumulate over the course of the movie. A flashback might just seem like a fuzzy thought when it passes by earlier in the film, but, pays off later. Zagar's stylistic touches don't always work. Jonah's drawings in a sketch book get animated at certain points in the film, but, never really feel all too well integrated. What does emerge is a larger picture of a family battling both within and without. Paps' macho Latino father dominates not only the mother, but, also causes frissons within the trio of brothers.

WE THE ANIMALS can be taken as simply a flashback reminiscence (it's based on a memoir by Justin Torres), but, once you let it roll over in your mind, a more complete 'story' takes hold. And, it it's a powerful one. Zagar's film is a refreshing, if at times, painful feature.

"The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another." Quentin Crisp

This year has arguably no more impressionist yet realistic narrative than We the Animals. Based on Justin Torres' autobiographical novel, it tells of three adolescent brothers from a mixed-race couple (she white, he Puerto Rican). They survive their parents' volatile relationship by creating their own fantasy world or simply hiding from abuse.

The discursive plot allows their world to become interrelated set pieces of watching their parents work out their conflicts with director Jeremiah Zagar's assured point of view frequently from the boys'. Occasionally levitation punctuates the story in a magic realism that gives a poetic gloss to the hardscrabble journey.

Among the many lovely angles is Ma (Sheila Vand) coddling the poetic Jonah (Evan Rosado), whose gradual discovery that he's gay is subtly handled. His notes and illustrations hidden under his bed provide a punctuation for the rough world above the blankets.

Despite the family's dismal blue-collar challenges in upper New York State, the boys show a resilience to give hope to an essentially unsettled life. The artfulness of the magical realism and Jonah's writings lend a sympathetic cast to the proceedings. Zagar and co-writer Daniel Kitrosser offer a home not entirely grungy, in fact rather tidy, that suggests order can prevail.

Symbolically the water motif, with images of drowning and rainy cleansing, helps coordinate the despair and hope inherent in the story. Nick Zammuto provides just the right low-key music of sadness and kindness. In all, the film coalesces around the challenges of disadvantaged boys surviving the rain into the sun.

It's not easy.

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." e. e. cummings

I lived parts of this story. My parents have a toxic marriage. My Dad is mentally ill and was abusive. He has bipolar. My childhood felt so free at times, like this kid, but as I got older I realized how trapped I was. I'm 27 now, free enough of my childhood, but the memories always linger. Watching this was painful, but sometimes you ave to acknowledge what happened.

"We The Animals" (2018 release; 94 min.) brings the story of three brothers somewhere in rural New York. As the movie opens, we see the three boys Manny, Joel and Jonah (aged 10-12 or thereabouts) roaming the woods near their house. We also get to know their parents (simply referred to as "ma" and "paps"), with paps being rather volatile and short-tempered. Jonah, the youngest of the three brothers, keeps a diary where he writes and draws as he absorbs what is going on around him. Then one day, after the family goes out swimming in a nearby river, ma and paps get into a terrible fight... At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the big screen adaptation of the book of of the same name by Justin Torres. I have not read the book and hence cannot comment how close the film remains to the book. But I can tell you that this movie is quite the experience. Directed by (for me unknown) Jeremiah Zagar, the movie has a dream-like feel to it, helped in part because the movie accentuates the perspective of Jonah, the youngest of the brothers who turns 10 ("you're not 10, you'll always be 9, and today you are 9 plus 1", ma tells him). The casting of the three young boys is absolutely fantastic (film debut for all three of them). As the movie progresses, the drawings play a bigger role, and take on a life of their own (literally). I found it all very engaging. There are a lot of coming-of-age movies out there, but this is one of a different kind, that's for sure. If there is one element of the film that I can be critical about, it's that much of the movie is filmed with handheld cameras and in extreme close-ups, which took me a while to get used to.

"We The Animals" premiered at this year's Sundance film festival to great acclaim, and it finally opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The Sunday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended dismally (3 people, including myself), although the gorgeous and warm weather probably had something to do with that. If you are in the mood for a coming-of-age movie that is of a different kind, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

I really hope this film gets the audience and recognition it deserves. I was so blown away by the cinematography and score that I had to really think afterwards about just how good the acting was too. Flawless performances by all, not least of which the three boys who you would assume are brothers in real life (they're not).

Bravo, well done!