Jet Boy

Jet Boy (2001) is a small Canadian production that was barely distributed and has still held a lasting place among the people who found it. Nathan is fifteen. He sells himself to look after his addicted mother. When she dies of an overdose he runs from child services and takes to the road. He falls in with a drug dealer called Boon. Boon is running from the police, Nathan from social workers, and they end up travelling together out of necessity. It becomes a road film but not a rescue story. Nathan approaches Boon the only way he knows adults to want him, and the film shows that moment without softening it. It is uncomfortable, and it is the most honest thing in the film. Technically it is weak. The budget is low, some supporting characters are cardboard, and several plot turns are forced. What holds it together is Branden Nadon's performance, which is far beyond what you would expect from a fifteen year old. It was released in Canada in 2001 and mostly found through festivals and DVD. It runs 100 minutes. Who should not watch it, and this belongs first: child abuse, child prostitution and drug use are the central subject. It is not easy viewing. Who it is for: hard independent drama and overlooked films.