Boy With a Frog

Expressive social-minded cinema set in the reality of Wrocław. The directors demonstrate a sense of contrast when they juxtapose the miserable existence of their protagonists against the glitzy consumerism of a shopping mall. A group of young boys – like a modern version of Los Olvidados from Luis Buñuel’s classic film – do whatever they can to survive in the urban jungle. With no support from their families, these teenagers get by on odd jobs and shoplifting. In one of the best scenes in the film, they take advantage of the naïveté of those around them and earn money by singing carols. The directors do not attempt to evoke pity or to manipulate the reactions of the viewers. Instead, they say what they want to say through the use of suggestive images. There are moments in Boy With a Frog when cynicism gives way to youthful euphoria and the film’s bitter realism is broken up by shots straight out of a music video.This sort of irregular narrative does a good job of conveying the complicated nature of the boys’ lives. The directors’ emotional restraint and talent for discreet observation make it difficult to predict what turns the characters’ lives will take next.

Piotr Czerkawski