Big Boy

In the 1950s, the Philippines had just been de-colonized and, on some smaller islands, you could sometimes still find a parachute with American aid hanging from a tree. It was a time when Filipinos were excited about coming changes; they wanted a new and better life. This includes Julio’s parents, who earn a living through the home production of cod-liver oil. The amazing recipe stimulates height growth among the naturally short Philippine children and Julio is to be the walking ad for the family business. Each day at sunrise, he is fed this mixture and stretched in variously creative ways. Big Boy looks like an authentic home movie from the 1950s found in the attic. It is perfect retro styling by Shireen Seno, who managed to make a film today and add archival music from the time. Just as surprising is the fact that this intimate, sensual and, it would seem, very personal film, which is a trip into the lost corners of childhood, does not illustrate her personal memories, but those the director collected from others. It is a collective image of a generation’s childhood stitched together from family conversations and the stories of parents, uncles and aunts.