The Garbage Man (2022)

The family is gathered around the table. The table is full of delicious food and drink that they all look forward to consuming. But there’s a more important reason why this family has gathered–and that’s to remember uncle Botão. They talk about his generosity, his time as The Garbage Man, and just about every other aspect of his astounding life. He’s a massive part of their existence, and they have so many things to talk about. As they reminisce about this wonderful man–humor is often remembered as the most prominent part of his existence.

Through animation, the story of a beautiful soul is told–and it’s an interesting way to tell this story. While some of the images throughout The Garbage Man help to illustrate the stories being told by this family, much of what is depicted on screen is food. The food is enticing, even though it’s animated–and it works as a way to invite viewers into this film and keep them engaged from beginning to end. With that being said, some of the choices regarding the animation and the way in which the scene is set takes away from the narrative.

There are often times throughout the course of The Garbage Man in which the visuals fill the screen in a jumbled fashion, and it makes it difficult for viewers (at least some viewers) to focus. For viewers who have difficulty focusing (viewers like me), The Garbage Man often presents a challenge, one that is incredibly difficult to overcome. This is problematic for those viewers, and it poses a challenge that the film struggles to overcome. Once those viewers have lost focus, the continued wave of visuals drown out a compelling narrative and an interesting bunch of stories. In some ways the visuals are overdone; they are raw and minimalistic in some ways, they are wonderfully executed–but they take over.

Simple colors transcend the entirety of The Garbage Man, and while the colors are slightly more than just black and white, the simplicity allows the light, calming blues that exist to make much more of an impact. Those blues represent imagination and inspiration, they express ideas of trust, wisdom, and loyalty–and as a result of the juxtapositional tones and colors, it makes its way to viewers with brilliance. This is the aspect of The Garbage Man that I’m most impressed with, because it’s what allows the film and its story to be understood and appeal to viewers.

The Garbage Man is a beautiful story that uses color to express it to viewers. That use of color is artistic, it’s full of passion, and it does such a wonderful job of appealing to viewers, bringing this story to life, and paying homage to who seems like a truly wonderful man. The jumbled, overcrowded nature of the animation, however, makes it challenging to follow along from time to time, and that causes The Garbage Man to suffer. Overall, this is a beautiful film, but it needs some fine tuning in order to truly find success.

Directed by Laura Gonçalves.

Starring Beatriz Botão, Carlos Botão, Anabela Botão, Nuno Botão, Rui Botão, etc.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10