Things We Dare Not Do

The impoverished Mexican village of El Roblito is located on a peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean and seems to be inhabited mainly by children; most of the adults work outside the village. Teenager Ñoño might be too old to still be playing with the prepubescent village kids, but he likes to hang out with them anyway. He cheerfully dives into the water with the boys, and swings his hips as he learns a choreo with the girls. But sometimes, after it gets dark, he goes off alone to dye his eyebrows and put on a dress.

Filmmaker Bruno Santamaria has clearly built a bond with the young people of Roblito. They call him by his first name and warn him of danger after there has been a shooting during a village festival. Will his presence help Ñoño to share his secret with his parents? In this subtly compelling coming-of-age story filtered through the eyes of children, we only see the machismo of the adult world in passing. Still, it underscores the courage shown by the seemingly timid Ñoño.