Patroon (2019)

• 67%
• 2019
• Mario Michael Gonsalves

Malik and his mother Zoraya, immigrants from Curaçao who have moved to the Netherlands in search of a better life, live in a close-quarters social housing apartment and often butt heads. Malik sees Zoraya as only caring about herself, while Zoraya maintains Malik does not respect her. Their unwillingness to communicate or compromise pushes the two apart. Malik falls in with a group of neighbourhood boys, who explore abandoned buildings and bond over an oppressive societal system designed to hold them back. One night during a game of soccer, however, Malik provokes one of the other boys and ends up in a fight. Ostracised, Malik decides to move on from the neighbourhood. He meets a girl Aria and falls in love, able to express his feels and deeply connect with another person for the first time. Soon, though, Aria learns she's expecting a child. Malik, blindsided and unsure of what to do, decides to return home to Zoraya for advice. Zoraya refuses to sympathise with Malik, explaining to him the cold hard reality of life, and leaving him on his own. Malik realises that no matter his circumstances, he is the only one that has control over his future. Malik steps up, confronting his problems with himself and the neighbourhood boys. Malik returns to Aria and transitions into his new life as a father, vowing to be a positive role model for his newborn child.