Psiconautas, Los Niños Olvidados [Birdboy: The Forgotten Children] (2015) (mini-review++)

(If you’re curious, my review process. It’s also pasted at the end of this post. I don’t believe in Rotten Tomatoes. I just believe in me.)

(***all-purpose SPOILER ALERT*** there may be some in this review)

acting 8

directing 9

effects 10

editing 9

writing 9

SW SCORE: 45

4.5 out of 5 🐙

++

I realized I hadn’t been watching any Spanish language comic book based movies and that’s really, really stupid because I’m Latinx and I love Latin American and Spanish films. So I picked this one because it was released relatively recently and the stills I saw were so beautiful that I had to check it out. It blew my mind. The animation is stunning. I’ve said this before but Pixar’s films, which I love, for the most part, have a similar aesthetic. So it’s a really lovely surprise when you see a strikingly different style. The best description I can provide for this style is a stylized version of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”. That’s how I felt when I was watching it. Besides the stunning animation, the plot is fantastic and not like any I’ve watched before. Sure, the post-apocalyptic milieu is well-trod, but this world is twisted and bizarre and sweet and surreal and magical and original. I don’t want to say more because part of the sincere joy of this film is to discover this terrifying new world on your own. It’s unlike any comic book-based movie you’ve seen before. Shoot, it’s likely unlike any movie you’ve seen before.

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(1) Shark Wrighter (SW) Score: Based on a sum of 5 sub-scores (acting, directing, writing/story, effects: cinematography &/or animation &/or effects, editing) with 1 being terrible and 10 being terrific.

(2) Octopuses (0-5 🐙, with 5 being fantastic and 0 being feces)

(3) Octopuses are my unquantifiable feeling…not that SW score is scientific…but this one is even less so

(4) ++ This optional section includes any incredibly *brilliant observations that don’t fit into simple quantitative slices like the scores and octopuses *(they are likely NOT brilliant)