Le garçon et le monde

The boy is sadden when his father leaves on the train to find work in the big city. He goes off into the big world in search for his father.

This is a Brazilian animation nominated for an Oscar in 2015. The animation style is colorful stick figures. It has a very unique look. It doubles down by having limited rudimentary dialogue done in gibberish. I do wonder if this would function better as a short, maybe half hour. The theme does get deeper as it delves into globalization and modernization. It's a slow turn into this darker material that is most disconcerting. There is a reveal at the end about the boy and the father which is probably confused especially without dialogue. It could have been done straight forward.

The Boy and The World has been one of my best discoveries in recent times. A movie that tells its story not through words but music, colours and the eyes of a young boy with a sense of wonder and innocence. The two dimensional animation did nothing if not alleviate the visual thrill that the movie was. A boy's imaginations were carefully captured that went apace with his emotions.

The story is about our young boy who sets out to seek his father who had to leave to work in the city. But on his journey, the boy finds many more facets of life that he had never experienced. He sees life as it could never have been in his imaginations. It is his survival through all the changes, which he never welcomed or run away from, that meets him in his lifelong quest for his father. It maybe a poignant piece for many viewers, but it is the 'hope' of the better world, which is born anew every time it is vanquished, made the movie marvellous.

Ale Abreu has not only produced a masterpiece, but also, I am sure, has given us that long overdue movie which vibrates in me as a symphony of life.

This is not a typical animated film. It has a unique visual and narrative style to represent ideas in an abstract way. Symbols of modern civilisation are garbled and remixed to reveal their "true form". The protestors are colourful and lively, the police are grey and oppressive, the manufacturers are otherworldly, and so on. The boy searches for his father but it seems to be a search for something greater.

Boy and the World is best-enjoyed if seen for its visually-appealing and special imagery. The story line is simple and, in a way, universal: a young boy searching and longing for his father. Such a plot is juxtaposed with social commentary on automation, mass economy, advertising culture, and on dangers of a globalized market on the environment. It runs as neither a happy nor sad film, but in the interstitial spaces of change, loss, and ultimately, hope.

While pleasant to watch, the film came across as taking too long to make its main points: it felt it could have been more effective if shortened to 50 minutes or so. In addition, while interesting in its use of gibberish for language, the power of language seemed like wasted and lost. On that note, I am confident that words in this mostly silent but musical film would add for a powerful and memorable effect: would bring us closer to the heart and soul of characters, and their hopes.

Yet all in all, Boy and the World offers a pleasant weekend afternoon conveying both child and adult themes at once. It is best appreciated if watched by both an adult and a child, so the mixing between vivid visuals and critical message are discussed, and explored. The age group of 8-12 seems optimal for this film, with an accompanying teacher or adult to guide a discussion afterwards.

Wonderfully playful animation from Brazil in which a small boy experiences the dueling wonders and terrors of big city life for the first time. The artwork, clearly on showcase opposite a rather modest storyline, varies from light and expressive to rich and densely textured. It can be a real wonder to behold, especially during moments when the child's imagination takes over and the mechanical guts of an industrial zone become huge, towering, ignorant beasts. Virtually language-free (characters speak a made-up dialect once or twice), it's more universal for that decision and really doesn't need the crutch. Though it gets heavy-handed with environmental messaging late in the journey, the film rebounds nicely with an unexpected twist and brings a little mist to the eye for the final scene. An ambitious, often stunning peek at modern life, as seen through the disbelieving eyes we all shared at one time or another, and well worthy of the Oscar attention it received.