Review of Kauwboy (2012) by Eduardo S — 06 Apr 2013

Kauwboy, also known as Little Bird, is the feature debut from Dutch director Boudewijn Koole, co-written with Jolein Laarman. It premiered in the Generation Kplus section of the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival, where it received the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk Grand Prix for Best Youth Film in addition to the award for Best First Feature. It is the Netherlands official entry to the 85th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

It's a quietly moving coming-of-age tale about a 10-year-old boy, Jojo (Rick Lens), from a troubled home where his mother isn't around, and his father (Loek Peters), is an unstable man prone to violent outbursts. One day in the woods, he comes across an abandoned baby jackdaw, and after failing to return it to its nest, he brings it home to care for it, and develops an immediate bond with the creature.

There's a captivating lead perfomance from young Lens, who maintains a delicate balance between being an angry mischievous loner, and an endearing delicate child having to grow up too quickly. While the story is a raw and deeply personal one, perhaps slightly predictable and unfolds without much surprise, but is always genuine and without pretense.

It's also shot with an interesting visual style to help us get into Jojo's headspace. Daniel Bouquet's handheld camera is often kept very close to him, but never in an obtrusive way, always giving us a clear look at the expression on his face or his interactions with the bird; and there are other stylistic moments like slow motion and even a few instances where the image is frozen in place, but Koole gets it right as the tone of these are never heavy handed.

This one's a great little bittersweet piece worth seeking out. It's probably too slight to get much notice from The Academy, but its still a strong debut that marks a promising start for both Koole and Lens.