Thursday, November 29, 2012

Kauwboy (2012)

Kauwboy (2012)
Kauwboy (2012)
Genre: Drama
Director: Boudewijn Koole
Starring: Rick Lens, Loek Peters, Cahit Ölmez, Susan Radder, Ricky Koole
Language: Dutch
Duration: 81 min.
Rating: 7.4
Summary:
A lively 10-year-old with a difficult home life marked by a volatile father and an absent mother, finds solace in an unexpected friendship with an abandoned baby jackdaw.
Kauwboy, also known as Little Bird, is the feature debut from Dutch director Boudewijn Koole, co-written with Jolein Laarman. It premiered in the Generation Kplus section of the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival, where it received the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk Grand Prix for Best Youth Film in addition to the award for Best First Feature. It is the Netherlands official entry to the 85th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

It's a quietly moving coming-of-age tale about a 10-year-old boy, Jojo (Rick Lens), from a troubled home where his mother isn't around, and his father (Loek Peters), is an unstable man prone to violent outbursts. One day in the woods, he comes across an abandoned baby jackdaw, and after failing to return it to its nest, he brings it home to care for it, and develops an immediate bond with the creature.

Kauwboy (2012)

Obviously, in a film about a boy and a bird, there is no escaping comparisons to Ken Loach's classic Kes (1969), but it's a film that manages to stand on its own quite well. There's a captivating lead perfomance from young Lens, who maintains a delicate balance between being an angry mischievous loner, and an endearing delicate child having to grow up too quickly. While the story is a raw and deeply personal one, perhaps slightly predictable and unfolds without much surprise, but is always genuine and without pretense.

It's also shot with an interesting visual style to help us get into Jojo's headspace. Daniel Bouquet's handheld camera is often kept very close to him, but never in an obtrusive way, always giving us a clear look at the expression on his face or his interactions with the bird; and there are other stylistic moments like slow motion and even a few instances where the image is frozen in place, but Koole gets it right as the tone of these are never heavy handed.

At times I felt the sappy country-western soundtrack provided by Ricky Koole (no relation to the director), who also appears as Jojo's mother, was a bit much; and the bubble-gum chewing girl Yenthe (Susan Radder), that he befriends from his water polo squad was a little too cute and perfect; but together they weren't enough to really derail the picture.

This one's a great little bittersweet piece worth seeking out. It's probably too slight to get much notice from The Academy, but its still a strong debut that marks a promising start for both Koole and Lens.
Bonjour Tristesse

Kauwboy (2012)

Kauwboy (2012)

Kauwboy (2012)

Kauwboy (2012)

Kauwboy (2012)

Kauwboy (2012)

Kauwboy (2012)

9 comments:

Mike Scott said...

I really enjoyed Kauwboy. Great central performance. You hit the nail on the head when you call it slight. I thought there were a couple of scenes in the final act that were a little heavy handed but, like you say, not enough to ruin the film. And it's saved nicely with a powerful closing scene.

The Angry Lurker said...

Not for me I think.....

d_4 said...

Yeah this looks cute. Just an enjoyable watch, I look forward to it.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Glad you enjoyed it. I agree the ending was very powerful, and the closing images were a nice touch.

Thanks for the comment, Mike.

FrontRoomCinema said...

I will keep an eye out for this one BT!! Thanks for the heads up

Jack Deth said...

Definitely looks like one to watch out for. Nice easy style. Really like the shot of the massed birds getting into formation.


Good choice, Bonjour!

Lisa Thatcher said...

Oh my god! That child is gorgeous! My womb hurts!

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Yeah, I think this is one you'd like.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Thanks Jack, it's a simple film but there are some great shots in it like that one.

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