«Packing Heavy, where the cinema missed out

Fribourg International Film Festival - Loris S. Musumeci

«Tomorrow they'll release Nenino.»

Tomas lives with his mother. He wanders; late at night, during the day instead of going to school. He has a few good friends with whom he can ride his bike, laugh, drink soda and smoke a cigarette on special occasions. Tomas is only twelve. His widowed mother is thinking of going out with her boyfriend, leaving her son to fend for himself. Despite his tender, plump face, the boy has a hard life ahead of him. And things get even more complicated when he learns that his father's killer has been released from prison.

The theme of a child abandoned by a mother seeking to rebuild her life after a tragedy is well known. It's been played over and over again on every screen. Yet it's still necessary to tackle it. The story is always poignant. It raises questions, of course, but there are no obvious answers. There's no miracle solution, nor is there necessarily a’happy end Hollywood. Packing Heavy, in the vein of Italian neo-realism, is of this type.

Argentinian director Dario Mascambroni is content to deliver a social tableau without morals or resolution. He films an episode in the life of a boy whose psychology is mingled with childlike innocence and feelings of hatred and revenge. The project itself is always interesting. Unfortunately, the film struggles to touch hearts.

Little Tomas is certainly moving. However, the film is not sufficiently powerful. The camera starts off well, filming the children from behind on their bikes at night, in the middle of the road. The aesthetics are there. But it all wears out pretty quickly and Packing Heavy develops almost into a social worker's report; bland and unstylish. A pity, because the theme was there, and so were the actors. What Dario Mascambroni lacked was the ability to really make cinema.

«How did you kill him?»

Write to the author : loris.musumeci@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: © Packing Heavy