Jaime (Saul Fonseca) is a spirited and enterprising thirteen-year-old kid living in the northern city of Oporto with his mother and her boyfriend. His beloved father lives in a shack, having been kicked out of the family home after losing his job, his moped, and most of his self-respect. Jaime wants to help his father by finding work and saving enough money to buy a scooter. In Oporto there is nothing unusual about minors having jobs, but it is illegal and dangerous and Jaime becomes both victim and angel of deliverance in a shadowy world of fly-by-night operators. Director Antonio Pedro Vasconcelos’s skilful blend of personal narrative and political comment compares with the best of recent European cinema, and Jaime won the Special Jury Prize at the 1999 San Sebastian Film Festival.
Portugal-Luxembourg-Brazil, 1999. English subtitles. Colour. Dolby stereo SR. 111 mins.