Arsenevich: Rolf de Heer - Bad Boy Bubby (1993)

Bubby, el chico malo

Todo lo que Bubby conoce del mundo son las paredes del inmundo sótano en el que ha sido confinado durante sus treinta y cinco años de vida. Solo tiene conciencia de su propia existencia y de la de su madre. Juega con su famélico gato y con las cucarachas. Su madre lo cuida a su modo, alimentándolo, abusando sexualmente de él, o pegándole, según su estado de ánimo. Hasta que un día Papá llega a casa y esto revoluciona a Bubby, que siente deseos de ver lo que hay fuera de allí...

Al igual que la taquillera producción norteamericana Forrest Gump (1994), de Robert Zemeckis, la película australiana Bad Boy Bubby (1993) también narra la historia de un disminuido psíquico a lo largo de un amplio periodo de su vida, pero con la notable diferencia de que el Forrest Gump de la primera es un notable reaccionario y el Bubby de la segunda un enloquecido anarquista. Narrada con un extremado cuidado por el casi desconocido director Rolf de Heer, Bad Boy Bubby tiene un guión mucho más brillante que su realización cinematográfica, pero el conjunto da lugar a una producción muy peculiar, bastante por encima de lo que suele verse habitualmente en las pantallas. Dividida en tres partes claramente diferenciadas, tiene una perfecta estructura dramática, una buena interpretación, en la que destaca el actor Nicholas Hope en el papel de Bubby, unos diálogos muy concisos, pero de los que se saca un partido muy peculiar y un depurado sentido del humor. (El país)

Bubby is 35 years old. He has lived in a grimy bunker-like apartment all his life. His only companions are a feral cat and his fanatical mother. Dictatorial and overbearing, this supposed parent treats her son horribly, making outrageous demands and ridiculous rules. Of course, with her boy now a man, she also benefits of his "matured" sexuality. Bubby cannot escape his claustrophobic world. Mother has told him that the air outside is contaminated and if the poison doesn't get him, Jesus will. So Bubby stays inside, waiting for the next round of reprobate behavior. One day, a stranger comes knocking at the door. It turns out to be Bubby's long lost father. Confused and scared, Bubby's behavior turns even more twisted, and it's not long before he has dealt with his family issues, and is off on his own. And the world turns out to be a strange and savage place for our stifled simpleton...

[...] Bubby is a wholly original creation, an intricate and infected innocent who may be smarter - or a lot dumber - than he appears. There are moments of high comedy in Hope's interpretation, as well as deep, deep sadness. That we can get behind and support someone like Bubby, who seems simultaneously antisocial and empathetic, is as much a commendation of De Heer's script as it is praise for Hope's performance. This is the very definition of a tour de force.

So is De Heer's direction. From the ideas floating around inside, to the way in which he chooses to illustrate them, Bad Boy Bubby brims with untold imagination. This is not just a narrative centering on mental/physical/ sexual abuse and bad parenting – it is also a discussion of God, a look at celebrity, a critique on aging and a swipe at social standards. This is a dense, dissertation of a film, a multifaceted test that offers something surprising with each and every viewing. This is the kind of movie one gets lost in, mesmerized by what we see and enraptured by what we hear. From its ominous beginnings to its optimistic end, Bad Boy Bubby retains its integrity and its power. This is one of the lost gems of world cinema. ~~ Al quotes are from Pop Matters