Chew Boy (2012)

Directed by: Boudewijn Koole | 78 minutes | family | Actors: Rick Lens, Loek Peters, Susan Radder, Ricky Koole, Cahit Ölmez

As if he has been familiar with making feature films for years, director Boudewijn Koole delivers a blistering debut with ‘Kauwboy’; good for two prizes at the Berlin Film Festival. The film guarantees feeling and involvement with everyone who sees it.

At the center of ‘Kauwboy’ is ten-year-old Jojo who one day takes a chew home and tries to take care of the animal without letting his father know. The fact is based on a childhood memory of Koole, and that is visible every second of the film. The film is imbued with love for the project and love for the cinema, so that narrative turns are always accompanied by beautiful camera moments and a very strong soundtrack. This is a director who loves film so much that the love for the profession shines through in every detail, which has left him with no choice but to turn his debut into a film that manages to transcend the genre of a children’s film. Because although ‘Kauwboy’ in its dark edges may be a bit too difficult for some children, its content and underlying storyline about the children neglected by their parents is also very well presented for adults.

‘Kauwboy’ enchants and amazes above all, but is at the same time gripping, wonderfully beautiful and endearing. The choice of Koole and co-writer Jolein Laarman to have the film revolve entirely around the young Jojo turns out to be excellent. In the small cast – which actually consists of only five people – the small play reigns between the actors, and the young Rick Lens knows how to distinguish himself very well in the lead role, and to carry the film for 78 minutes. The childhood memory of Boudewijn Koole about raising a bird is illustrated so beautifully in ‘Kauwboy’ that it makes us very curious about what other stories the novice director will film.