The story begins with a boy named Nico getting ready for school and we see him putting three paper bags into his backpack. A girl named Alicia picks him up and they go to school where she tells her classmates how Nico saved her life. Then we notice that he has a bag over his face. When he takes it off we see his face is covered with hard blisters. The students see his face and they all put air bubbles on their faces and hug him, showing him that he is in a safe space.
The film's plot and message are about not making fun of people for the way they look. The concept is easy to understand, even for young children. The camera work is well done; I especially enjoyed the close-ups at the end, where they are all hugging. The main character, Nico, is played by Gabriel Ornelas. For most of the film, we don't see his face as it is covered by the paper bag. We only get to hear and see at the end, and that's the whole point of the film. We see how he is ashamed of his face and when his friend, Alicia takes him to school, his life changes. Anabella Mora, who plays Alicia, is outstanding, particularly when she tells the story about how Nico saved her life. You can see how much she cares about Nico. This is a short film, at just over 12 minutes so there is not a lot of backstory involved; but it's amazingly detailed in such a short period of time. Nico's makeup stands out as it is very believable. This film is from Venezuela, but it is pretty universal. The classroom is decorated with the Venezuelan flag and we see briefly a wonderful waterfall that is very famous in Venezuela and it is where Nico rescues Alicia. The story takes place in present day which is shown by props such as a smart board in the classroom. Music plays a small part in this film - it is rather obtrusively in the background. Personally I would have loved to see more upbeat contemporary music use, but I'm not the filmmaker. There are some special effects when Nico rescues Alicia at the waterfall - we see some angel wings appear behind him. The prologue stands out the most; you see how much thought was put into this film. I feel this is very important to the filmmaker, Carlos Arteaga, because he clearly took time to make everything in a way that the viewer can understand. The ending is the best part; you see how a community can come together and praise someone instead of judging them. All the school children show that they care about Nico and that, no matter how he looks, he is an equal.
The film's message is to not to judge someone for how they look. Everyone is equal.
I give Nico 4.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 8 to 12. By Miguel C., KIDS FIRST!
The story begins with a boy named Nico getting ready for school and we see him putting three paper bags into his backpack. A girl named Alicia picks him up and they go to school where she tells her classmates how Nico saved her life. Then we notice that he has a bag over his face. When he takes it off we see his face is covered with hard blisters. The students see his face and they all put air bubbles on their faces and hug him, showing him that he is in a safe space.
The film's plot and message are about not making fun of people for the way they look. The concept is easy to understand, even for young children. The camera work is well done; I especially enjoyed the close-ups at the end, where they are all hugging. The main character, Nico, is played by Gabriel Ornelas. For most of the film, we don't see his face as it is covered by the paper bag. We only get to hear and see at the end, and that's the whole point of the film. We see how he is ashamed of his face and when his friend, Alicia takes him to school, his life changes. Anabella Mora, who plays Alicia, is outstanding, particularly when she tells the story about how Nico saved her life. You can see how much she cares about Nico. This is a short film, at just over 12 minutes so there is not a lot of backstory involved; but it's amazingly detailed in such a short period of time. Nico's makeup stands out as it is very believable. This film is from Venezuela, but it is pretty universal. The classroom is decorated with the Venezuelan flag and we see briefly a wonderful waterfall that is very famous in Venezuela and it is where Nico rescues Alicia. The story takes place in present day which is shown by props such as a smart board in the classroom. Music plays a small part in this film - it is rather obtrusively in the background. Personally I would have loved to see more upbeat contemporary music use, but I'm not the filmmaker. There are some special effects when Nico rescues Alicia at the waterfall - we see some angel wings appear behind him. The prologue stands out the most; you see how much thought was put into this film. I feel this is very important to the filmmaker, Carlos Arteaga, because he clearly took time to make everything in a way that the viewer can understand. The ending is the best part; you see how a community can come together and praise someone instead of judging them. All the school children show that they care about Nico and that, no matter how he looks, he is an equal.
The film's message is to not to judge someone for how they look. Everyone is equal.
I give Nico 4.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 8 to 12. By Miguel C., KIDS FIRST!
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