Octavio

Octavio, three years of age, very dark complexion, big eyes. He has lived in a granary for a year until his mother delivered him to the orphanage of Bogotá. He suffered from undernourishment, muscle atrophy, and cataract. A few months after his operation, his teacher explains to him that the orphanage has found new parents for him. They will take him along to a far country. She shows him a picture of the Viltrakis family. The usually gabby little boy now only gives a timid nod. George and Amy Viltrakis pay $10,000 and fly with Octavio to Alaska. Suddenly, his life has changed, but he rather likes his new mother; at least, her spectacles are just as thick as his. A year later, Octavio is no longer a lost Colombian boy but a United States citizen. His name is Luc Viltrakis. He goes to an American school and salutes the Stars and Stripes. He feasts on Big Macs and watches cartoons on T. V. His parents read to him from the Bible. Seemingly, he is the same as his friends in this land of Coca Cola, Walt Disney, and Jesus Christ. He is not very talkative anymore. He feels forced to speak English because no one understands his mother tongue. But this would be too simple an explanation for his behaviour; it seems as if he is hiding behind his glasses. Octavio was a cheerful young child, Luc is a reticent boy with an impenetrable gaze. Nobody will find out what he really thinks. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)