After his mother’s sudden death, Socrates, a 15-year-old living on the margins of São Paulo’s coast, must survive on his own while coming to terms with his grief.
During a couple of trips to São Paulo at the end of the last century, I observed the extensive Shanti town that rings the exceedingly large city with a population of twelve million. A study in contrasts, São Paulo exhibits vast extremes of wealth and poverty.
After the unexpected death of his mother, a 15-year-old Socrates (Christian Malheiros) must figure out how to come to terms with both impending destitution and his emerging sexuality as a gay man. He encounters Maicon (Tales Ordakji) first as an adversary, then with sexual interest that later proves all too ephemeral.
Life on the streets in São Paulo, like most other large cities, alternates between hostility and indifference. The proprietor pressures Socrates for the rent, which he has little prospect of paying because he is underage and cannot obtain legitimate steady employment. An abusive father offers no support. Left with few options, he wanders through odd jobs, living briefly in the houses of barely accommodating relatives and acquaintances as he tries to make his way in the world living hand to mouth.
Directed by Alexandre Moratto, “Socrates” provides a window into the type of uneasy existence with which many are unfamiliar. The film tells a gritty story that, for the most part, reflects poorly on the human condition. As the narrative concludes, Socrates sifts through his mother’s ashes along the São Paulo seashore – a reminder that the same fate eventually awaits us all, rich or poor. Perhaps like Socrates, we can glean at least a modicum of meaning along the journey.
Opens in Los Angeles August 9th and on DVD & VOD August 20th
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