When 12-year-old Jonas’ mother leaves to “fight her demons”, he steps up as head of the household, becoming the unofficial guardian to his younger siblings. With food and money running out, the children retreat into a world of their own where, cloaked eerily in black-and-white, their home turns into one of bugs and mysticism – they make saucepan gardens, they take on insects as pets and spiderwebs encroach. Only the friendship of an odd young homeless man gives Jonas hope to survive in an adult’s world.
Cinematography
Shadowy monochrome that makes poverty feel like folklore.
Acting
Child performances raw enough to break your heart.
Direction
Eibl-Eibesfeldt lets silence do the screaming.
Director
Mara Eibl-Eibesfeldt
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Eibl-Eibesfeldt based this on real German cases of 'verwahrloste Kinder'—children raising themselves in affluent societies.
The insect 'pets' were real—the child actors genuinely cared for them during filming, blurring documentary and fiction.
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