We meet the "Animals" early on -- three Puerto Rican brothers living with their parents in upstate New York in the 1980s. Manny, Joel and Jonah feel almost as though they are one being, with shared skin and six arms and legs. The film focuses on nine-year-old Jonah, played by Evan Rosado (all three of the boys offer up terrific performances). We also meet their parents: Paps (played by Raul Castillo), who dances while he cooks, and Ma (Sheila Vand). These early family scenes unfold with all the magic of a contemporary fairy tale. The movie itself could have opened with the words "Once Upon A Time."
But as is often the case in fairy tales, things aren't quite what they seem to be, and danger is often lurking right around the corner. A trip to the lake turns into a traumatizing swimming lesson for Jonah. Parents who seem to love each other one day can suddenly seem to stop doing so.
And when things go bad, look out. Paps and Ma have it out one night, and Paps says his goodbyes to his three boys. Their mother takes to bed for days, leaving the brothers to search the house and neighborhood for food. As the boys gobble down stolen candy and leftover soy sauce packets, the phone keeps ringing. The boys wonder if it might be their missing father, but they decide against answering it. It's here where one may question the film's narrative. How much time is passing? Are these kids in school? Do they have friends? Does the mother? Is there extended family nearby? The film doesn't answer any of these questions.
Ma recovers, Paps returns, and things get back to what passes for normal for this young family. The boys have front row seats to their parents unpredictable marriage, of course, and the film stays with Jonah as he draws in his notebook and tries to make sense of all this (the drawings come to life in some nice animation by Mark Samsonovich). There is chaos here, but there is also love, and the film raises an interesting question about good enough parenting. How good do parents have to be to make sure their child is going to be okay?
In perhaps the film's best scene, we see the boys and the parents sharing a bathroom. The boys finish washing their feet and then slip behind the shower curtain. This is clearly part of an often-played game; the boys vanish, and the parents call out to them, search the bathroom, and then find them. But that is not what happens on this occasion. The parents -- who clearly have a strong sexual draw to each other -- get caught up in an erotic moment with each other. Ma and Paps realize too late that they have missed their entrance, so to speak, and blown the game. They try and save the moment, and some easy family roughhousing suddenly turns violent. "You were supposed to find us," one of the boys yells and slaps his father hard on the back, and then the other boys each take their turns. "Why didn't you find us?" The slaps get harder, and the words more insistent.
These kids are angry about a lot more than a missed moment of play, of course. There are all sorts of spoken and unspoken agreements between a parent and a child: I will feed you; I will clothe you; I will protect you. Your needs will come before my own. What is really fascinating in this scene, however, is that both parents accept the blows. They know they screwed up; they know they must take their punishment. How many children raised by alcoholic, unpredictable parents never feel safe enough to take up their parents' failings with them?
There is something else Jonah is trying to figure out: sex. While the brothers are out searching for food, they meet a kindly farmer and his son, who invites the boys into his room and later shows them a pornographic video. Jonah keeps returning to this house to see this boy. It's clear Jonah is drawn to this boy, that we know a name for these feelings even if he does not.
Dealing with preteen sexuality is always dicey, and I give the film points for going there. The book on which this movie is based takes place over a handful of years, and this gives Jonah's exploration of his sexuality more of a chance to breathe. The movie takes place over a period of months. What we get is really Jonah's first step on a journey. But that is okay. When the kiss comes, it is brief and tastefully handled, and has all the sweetness that a first kiss should.
Late in the film, after a series of disappointments, Paps moans to Ma that they will never escape this world, this cycle of just getting by in life. He gestures to the boys. "They will never escape it either."
The film's lovely final scene suggest that Jonah will.
But as is often the case in fairy tales, things aren't quite what they seem to be, and danger is often lurking right around the corner. A trip to the lake turns into a traumatizing swimming lesson for Jonah. Parents who seem to love each other one day can suddenly seem to stop doing so.
And when things go bad, look out. Paps and Ma have it out one night, and Paps says his goodbyes to his three boys. Their mother takes to bed for days, leaving the brothers to search the house and neighborhood for food. As the boys gobble down stolen candy and leftover soy sauce packets, the phone keeps ringing. The boys wonder if it might be their missing father, but they decide against answering it. It's here where one may question the film's narrative. How much time is passing? Are these kids in school? Do they have friends? Does the mother? Is there extended family nearby? The film doesn't answer any of these questions.
Ma recovers, Paps returns, and things get back to what passes for normal for this young family. The boys have front row seats to their parents unpredictable marriage, of course, and the film stays with Jonah as he draws in his notebook and tries to make sense of all this (the drawings come to life in some nice animation by Mark Samsonovich). There is chaos here, but there is also love, and the film raises an interesting question about good enough parenting. How good do parents have to be to make sure their child is going to be okay?
In perhaps the film's best scene, we see the boys and the parents sharing a bathroom. The boys finish washing their feet and then slip behind the shower curtain. This is clearly part of an often-played game; the boys vanish, and the parents call out to them, search the bathroom, and then find them. But that is not what happens on this occasion. The parents -- who clearly have a strong sexual draw to each other -- get caught up in an erotic moment with each other. Ma and Paps realize too late that they have missed their entrance, so to speak, and blown the game. They try and save the moment, and some easy family roughhousing suddenly turns violent. "You were supposed to find us," one of the boys yells and slaps his father hard on the back, and then the other boys each take their turns. "Why didn't you find us?" The slaps get harder, and the words more insistent.
These kids are angry about a lot more than a missed moment of play, of course. There are all sorts of spoken and unspoken agreements between a parent and a child: I will feed you; I will clothe you; I will protect you. Your needs will come before my own. What is really fascinating in this scene, however, is that both parents accept the blows. They know they screwed up; they know they must take their punishment. How many children raised by alcoholic, unpredictable parents never feel safe enough to take up their parents' failings with them?
There is something else Jonah is trying to figure out: sex. While the brothers are out searching for food, they meet a kindly farmer and his son, who invites the boys into his room and later shows them a pornographic video. Jonah keeps returning to this house to see this boy. It's clear Jonah is drawn to this boy, that we know a name for these feelings even if he does not.
Dealing with preteen sexuality is always dicey, and I give the film points for going there. The book on which this movie is based takes place over a handful of years, and this gives Jonah's exploration of his sexuality more of a chance to breathe. The movie takes place over a period of months. What we get is really Jonah's first step on a journey. But that is okay. When the kiss comes, it is brief and tastefully handled, and has all the sweetness that a first kiss should.
Late in the film, after a series of disappointments, Paps moans to Ma that they will never escape this world, this cycle of just getting by in life. He gestures to the boys. "They will never escape it either."
The film's lovely final scene suggest that Jonah will.