“Purpleboy” commanded my attention from the very first scene of a point-of-view shot captured looking down from the body of a person with an erect phallus and two breasts resembling mountain peaks. The scene then zooms into a fertilized egg labeled with a trans symbol.

It’s complex.

There’s just too much good in this.

The sound effects, the sound editing, the sound mixing. The music. The minimal speaking. All of the elements were so impactful.

The animation was captivating and the color palette was gorgeous. It’s like the animation team all had PhDs in the eggplant gradient, and just knew what the fuck to do. The details in the phallic and labial structures throughout the film, the references to binary sex characteristics and traits, familial and community relationships and reactions to the spectrum of gender identities. Just…

I totally understand the color choice: purple is significant, and is usually used to symbolize transgender or non-binary gender identities on the spectrum. I loved the idea of Oscar being a flower child who grew in a garden to a mother hen and a bullish father–such creative symbolism. The growth transition during the film of the familial understanding and tolerance of Oscar’s identity paralleled with him finally blossoming from the garden,  and the “mother hen” transitioning into a human…I…

…there’s just so much good in this!

I don’t think I’ve seen a queer narrative imagined like this before, especially not in animation.

This is the film I’d want to talk to other critics about. I wonder what other people’s reactions were. “Purpleboy” gave me goosebumps. The transitions throughout the film felt so meticulous. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn’t know what was coming next, and I almost didn’t want it to end. It was so emotional. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

My favorite part was the ant scene with the accompanying score—it made me feel like I could feel the ants were actually crawling all over me. Even thinking about it gives me the little nagging, tickling jitters. I loved that!

This film felt like a dignified, beautiful representation. I’m interested in exploring the director’s (Alexandre Siqueira) other works. Stories like this should be shared everywhere, all the time.