Final Rating: 3.5/5
A citrus-colored summer radiates from the screen in any viewing of Papaya, the wordless, cheerfully animated feature debut from Brazilian writer and director Priscilla Kellen. Kellen is previously known for her work with Alê Abreu, this film’s artistic supervisor and Kellon’s mentor through previous film projects Garoto Cósmico and The Boy and the World (Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Feature) – before Kellen’s directorial foray into children’s television with Vivi Viravento. But Kellen’s new tropics-soaked story of love, loss of self, and growing up pushes the boundaries of what children’s entertainment can be. And with just 74 minutes of runtime.
This is exactly why it was selected for the Brelinale’s Generation Kplus competition, the film’s international premiere, following its world premiere in the Premiere Brazil: Generation at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival in October. The Berlinale Generation Kplus competition (and its 14plus sibling) was created for “the type of cinema that seeks to challenge without overwhelming. Films that, in their narratives and cinematic languages, take young people seriously, open doors to unfamiliar worlds, and demand bravery, encouraging collective solutions. Films that hold up a mirror to the adult world, and expand the formal language of cinema.” A description this tale of an independent seed’s jungle explorations fits to a T.
The story begins simple and sweet, building drama as it picks up steam – but, in short, it tells the tale of a fresh papaya seed who isn’t ready to plant her roots and grow up. Our protagonist isn’t like the other papaya seeds, yearning instead to take flight and explore the wider world. The tale is inspired by the director’s own journey into motherhood and the combination of feeling utter devotion to a new life, yet also the yearning for freedom that provokes at the same time.
This is definitely what would be known in the US as a G-rated film, fit for any and all ages – but, to be frank, lovers of stoner cinema should equally take note: this moving digital paper collage of brightly colored graphic design is as attuned to that audience as (or perhaps even more so than) the youngest of children, who will be challenged indeed by a slightly more harrowing sequence as the film reaches its climax.
Though, the educational content about the cycles of the forest and the interconnectedness of the “Wood Wide Web” network of roots and mycelium that allow communication between plants is as educational as it is beautifully illustrated. Just tell your wee ones that one psychedelic syringe-themed interlude is about plant modification, and leave out the drug-implication winks to the adults in the room.
Whatever your age, expect to be drawn in by pleasant pacing, jaunty music, and colors so crisp your eyes will want to bite into them. Birdo Animation Studio has created hypnotic patterns of geometric shading that slice through dramatically simple cut-out shapes, forming busy graphic patterns that fill the screen, every frame brimming with delight and whimsy. As the world becomes more lush, sometimes photo-realistic fruits and flowers add new layers of texture.
As for that music, Music Producer Talita Del Collado combined pan-Brazilian pop music with sounds inspired by nature to create the score. And then the Submarino Fantástico studio team worked with Talita’s compositions to create the sound effects that infuse the film with life.
Brazilian singer-songwriter Tulipa Ruiz is one of the character voices whose wordless reactions as the amused but minimally interfering Mother-Tree center the story, cooing as she warmly shakes her ample papaya bosoms at her wayward offspring until she ultimately breaks out into song, singing “Borboleta,” composed by her father Luiz Chagas and produced by her brother Gustavo Chagas.
As our papaya-seed protagonist explores beyond the reach of her protective bubble – overseen by the many small animals (and occasionally less small animals) of this verdant world and its environs – she learns the hard way that there’s no place like home. And that home is under threat. (This movie has nothing positive to say about commercial farming practices, the danger they pose to nature, and the mediocrity of the food they produce.)
But fear not for your kiddos (or your own soft heart): it all ends on a note of high hope. Sadly, perhaps too much hope to be true.
Thank you to Indie Sales and The PR Factory for the screener.
