I attended the Brazilian Film Series Don’t Call Me Son in Hagerty 180 on March 25. It was an academic event.

The film was in Portuguese with English subtitles. It’s about a teenage boy named Felipe whose life is ripped apart when the police arrest his mother for having stolen him and his (adopted) younger sister from the maternity ward. Felipe enjoys, music, parties, cross-dressing, and casual sex. He does not fit in at all with his new (biological) family, who are led by a traditional patriarch who expects his son to be like masculine pursuits, work hard in school, and strive to succeed in life. And… that’s it. There’s not much else to it. It was a relatively short film, with little plot resolution. He begins to grow close with his new brother, and that’s how the film ends.

Honestly, Don’t Call Me Son didn’t really do it for me. The premise wasn’t that interesting, the plot didn’t really go anywhere, and it was just sort of sad. Felipe and his sister had been living a happy childhood with a mother who loved and accepted them. She obviously had stolen them from birth, but they were in a good spot. To be torn away from the only home you’ve ever known at 17 would be terrible.

Felipe’s biological father, Matheus, is obviously not the best guy. Felipe is essentially a grown man, and completely a stranger. Expecting someone in that position to conform to your idea of a son overnight is just ridiculous. I understand Matheus’s concern; Felipe is an aimless youth at an age when you should be getting ready for college or a job. But his narrow-mindedness wipes away any goodwill his overzealous parenting has, in my mind.

I don’t feel like I gained a ton from this film. I suppose I consider myself blessed that I grew up in a stable and supportive household.

As I usually say, this topic was completely out of left field with regards to my coursework. I like math and computers. I know very little about Brazilian culture, LGBT youth, or poor family dynamics.

If I could ask the speaker (in this case, the writer/director Anna Muylaert) a question, I guess it would be something along the lines of “How do you come up with this stuff?”. Seriously. The film is just the intersection of a bunch of different interesting film ideas – stolen baby, restless teenager, culture clash, etc – and I don’t understand where people get the inspiration for making these kinds of movies.