YO

Yo is a child in a man’s body: he is 30, but mentally he’s still a little boy. He lives with his mother, who runs a restaurant in the middle of nowhere, near a highway jammed with trucks day and night. When Yo’s mother’s new lover, Pady, decides to move in, the young man feels neglected and his relationships quickly falter. To keep him away from the business, Pady finds Yo a job that reveals the world of adults to him and leads him to his first romantic and sexual experiences. Matías Meyer (The Last Christeros) is an independent filmmaker with a distinctive signature, and in this new feature he deftly explores themes of filiation and rejection. His carefully framed frontal shots capture his protagonist’s struggles with conflicting emotions. Supported by a soundtrack by Galo Duran, who drew inspiration from psychological thrillers, the director keeps a constant sense of tension running through his story, even during rare moments of joy and relaxation. With its meticulous mise-en-scène, this adaptation of a short story by J.M.G. Le Clézio explores the sometimes-cruel world faced by a boy who doesn’t have the tools to cope.