RoweReviews
  • Viewing Log / Reviews
  • Search
  • Ramblings
  • Contact Me

Baby Bump (2016) - Kuba Czekaj

7/14/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
​Kuba Czekaj's Baby Bump is an ultra-stylish, surrealistic coming of age story focusing specifically on sexual identity.  Told through the lens of 11-year-old Mickey House, a young boy who is befuddled by the recent changes his body is experiencing, Baby Bump is a blend of Walt Disney and the work of David Lynch, a singular vision of adolescence and puberty that is as befuddling at times as it is transfixing.  Mickey House is a character struggling to understand exactly who he is and what he is becoming, a loner character whose only guidance, and I use the term loosely, comes from a single-mother who routinely does sexually-driven cam shows as a way to pay the bills.  At school, Mickey is an absolute loner, though he is left alone more so than not due to his successful business - one in which he sells clean urine to his classmates so they can pass drug tests.  Subtlety isnt exactly Baby Bump's strong suit, as right from the get-go the film does a lot to establish Mickey House's seclusion and wandering mind.   The root of Mickey's confusion is his mother, a character who makes her living based off of her feminine figure and attractiveness, someone who nearly every male character in the film finds attractive.  The film takes on a borderline Oedipus complex at times, but it's merely another example of Mickey's confusion over his body and his sexuality, as he struggles to understand the pubescent feelings and bodily experiences he is going through.  Intentional or not, I'd argue the film captures the importance of the nuclear family, or at least a strong male presence in the life of every child, as Mickey's confusion is driven mainly by his disdain for those who pursue his mother (the school security officer, his older classmates who reference how hot his mother is), as the young boy even has borderline masochistic visions about detaching his own sexual organ, due primarily to him viewing it as something unnatural, monstrous even.  Baby Bump is bombastic with style and while the film delivers rather consistent outrageous and perversive comedy, it does have a negative impact on the film's overall pacing, being too stylish for its own good at times in a way that makes the film feel uneven and sporadic. Though the surrealist nightmares that blur the line between reality and fantasy are certainly bound to be the most memorable,  the use of split screen throughout Baby Bump is one of the film's more nuanced decisions that stood out to me. While one could argue the split screen was merely used as a way to capture the actions of Mickey and his mother simultaneously, I'd argue it's a decision that is more than just rooted in economical filmmaking, as the split screen serves as an effective tool, especially early on, at capturing the disconnect between mother and son.  A film that is sure to frustrate some viewers due to its bizarre, expressive surrealistic style, Kuba Czekaj's Baby Bump is a singular vision of the overdone coming-of-age narrative archetype, being a transfixing study of the importance of being comfortable in ones' own skin. 

Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Love of all things cinema brought me here.  

    Archives

    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Viewing Log / Reviews
  • Search
  • Ramblings
  • Contact Me