Becoming

Summer has begun, and for 11-year-old Bryan, that means only one thing: working in the picturesque Mexican countryside raising fighting bulls. His family has been breeding bulls for four generations, and he longs to emulate the cowboys in his family—uncles who he looks up to as father figures. His own father is absent, having left for America before Bryan was born, with the promise of building a better life for the family. He has yet to return. Between tender moments with his supportive mom, a hardworking housekeeper and a best friend who shares his love of bullfighting, Bryan is introspective, with an infectious hopefulness about the future. Director Isabel Vaca artfully captures the understated process of a boy facing the reality that every summer comes to an end. Denae Peters

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