The Boy Who Couldn't Feel Pain
2022 · 21m · Germany/USA
Directed by Eugen Merher
Genres: coming-of-age, drama, surrealism
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, mythic
In the small desert town of Grants, New Mexico, Chester — a young Black street fighter who cannot feel physical pain — is exploited by his cousin Nelson as a prize-fighting attraction, until a chance friendship with Annie, a new girl in town, begins to crack open the emotional numbness rooted in his childhood trauma.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
German film school flies to New Mexico to cast real locals in a Southern-tall-tale prize-fighting myth — the outsider gaze is risky but the commitment to place is real. Cautiously interested.
Eugen Merher transports a German film school crew to actual Grants, New Mexico, casting real locals — including Native Americans and ex-convicts — alongside actors for a tall-tale myth. The location-as-grounding instinct is sound.
Twenty-one minutes from a German film school crew that actually traveled to Grants, New Mexico and cast real locals — ex-convicts, council members, Native Americans — alongside professional actors. That documentary-fiction blend rooted in a specific town gives a tall-tale folkloric premise real ground. Student Academy Awards finalist confirms.
Reviews
An ambitious and big-hearted story that admirably straddles the tricky divide between realism and fantasy... takes big swings towards the fantastic and full-throated sincerity without landing in cringe territory.
Festivals
- Young Director Award, Cannes 2022, Gold + Silver Best Use of Music
- Student Academy Awards 2022, Finalist
- Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2023
- Santa Fe Independent Film Festival 2022, Best New Mexico Short
- Fargo Film Festival 2023, Best Student Film
- Kinsale Sharks 2022, Grand Prix
- Tirana International Film Festival 2022, Best Student Short
- Toronto Black Film Festival 2023