Boy and the World

Brazilian artist Alê Abreu brings to screen a strikingly unique visual style to show the world through the eyes of a young boy. A child, Cuca, lives a life of quiet wonder, exploring all that the countryside has to offer. His cozy life is shattered when his father leaves for the city, prompting him to embark on a quest to reunite his family. The young boy’s journey unfolds like a tapestry, the animation taking on greater complexity and variety as his small world expands. Simple line drawings of the village give way to broad brushstrokes forming giant bushels of cotton lining country roads, and sweeps of pastel churned into roaring waves. Approaching civilization, industrial landscapes are inhabited by animal-machines and strange beings, with barrios of decoupage streets and shop windows, and flashing neon advertisements that illuminate the night like a giant Lite Brite. The story depicts a clash between village and city, indigenous and imperial, hand crafted and mechanized, rich and poor — and throughout the tumult, the heart and soul of the people beats on as a song, a simple plaintive refrain played on recorder. The film’s music is on equal footing with the stunning visuals, a soundscape of pan-flute, samba, and Brazilian hip-hop mixing with the whirling carnival colors and exploding fireworks.