This first film experience by Laís Bodansky is a daring and risky view on children discovering their sexuality during the confusing
transition to adolescence. We follow a group of 11-12 year-olds composed by several boys and just one girl (Camila Kolber), who joins them
during countless soccer games without any kind of prejudice but she's the best player of them all since she knows where to hit them with the
ball (lots and lots of balls being crushed).
Two turning points mark her awakening to getting to know the difference between genders: some initial eye-contacts with one of the boys
(Francisco Rojo) where both start to see each other in a different and curious way (attraction); and a conflicted play that went wrong and the
group acts and reacts negatively to something she did. That second part is where the story moves from the amusing fun and games routine and moves
to a more dangerous area. As much some of us hear during our childhood that children aren't evil and all that happens to them are mostly innocent
things, seeing this drastic change in their typical behavior was disturbing. Might have been seen as "innocent" in 1994 but by today's standards there'd be
a huge outcry everywhere. Yet, the story moves to some light conclusion.
For a first-time director, Bodansky had a great control of everything, from the fine technical aspects to the direction of actors who were
all for first-and-only time on camera and they're all played for the São Paulo junior soccer team (probably some of them might have had become
successful players in the future). But I really don't know what to feel about this particular story and why such a choice to be made into a film.
A young audience will see it as a curious thing as they're learning about the world and about themselves; but for the adults in the room is just
one of those uncomfortable things that generate discussion and a highly critical view of everything. 6/10.
