Kauwboy

Boudewijn Koole's 2012 Dutch film follows Jojo, ten years old. His mother is not at home and why is not explained for a long time; his father is angry, brittle and does not know how to talk to the boy. Jojo finds a jackdaw chick fallen from its nest, brings it home secretly and starts feeding it, and the bird becomes a secret to be kept from his father. The film does not push the relationship between the child and the animal into a sentimental shape; the bird is not consolation but the only place Jojo can carry his own loss. The camera stays at the boy's height and the scenes are kept short. Rick Lens's performance is natural and unforced. It won a first feature award in Berlin. Who it's for: viewers who like spare films about childhood and grief. Who it's not for: anyone arriving expecting a family film; the story treats a child's loss directly.