O Cacto (The Cactus)

Physical transformation is a recurring motif in storytelling, often serving as a metaphor for deeper emotional or moral shifts. Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis uses it to examine alienation, while Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde delves into the duality of human nature. Even Peter Parker’s evolution into Spider-Man speaks to the weight of newfound responsibility. In Ricardo Kump’s haunting horror short O Cacto (The Cactus), this tradition continues as we witness a man with a debilitating nervous system condition slowly transform into a plant after an accident leaves him paralysed – his metamorphosis a chilling reflection on helplessness, identity, and the fragility of the human body.

Adapted from Santiago Dabove’s short story Ser pó, The Cactus introduces us to its protagonist as he visits a doctor and receives treatment – morphine and other substances, as in the original – for a worsening condition. On his way home, riding through a dry and desolate landscape, he is suddenly struck by the paralysis that had long loomed over him, throwing him from his horse and leaving him helpless by the dusty roadside. As he lies there, coming to terms with his fate, the narrative slips into a stream of consciousness, following his reflections on death, decay, and the fragility of identity.

Kump’s aesthetic feels like the perfect compliment to Dabove’s story.

Bringing Dabove’s rich, mystic prose to life on screen is no small task, but Brazilian animator Kump meets the challenge with bold stylistic choices. Inspired by the vast, emotive landscapes of 19th-century Romantic painting, he crafts a visual world using digital photo collage techniques, where 2D animation plays out across layered 3D spaces. This approach creates a sense of both depth and disorientation, echoing the character’s own unmoored state. The result is as unsettling as it is mesmerising: a visual language that grounds the story in the dirt and dust of the physical world, even as it leans into the surreal and the symbolic.

Though themes of death, acceptance, and the collapse of the self are hardly new terrain for filmmakers, The Cactus distinguishes itself through its evocative tone, interpretive depth, and visual sophistication. It’s a daring and conceptually rich directorial debut – one that signals Kump as an artist unafraid to tackle existential material with poetic force. Credit must, of course, be given to Dabove’s source material, but Kump’s adaptation never feels reverential or static; it pulses with vision and daring.

And if The Cactus is any indication, Kump is only just beginning to explore the limits of animation as a philosophical and emotional medium. For his next project, he is co-directing The Factory Beyond the Hill, an adaptation of J.J. Veiga’s short, alongside filmmaker Lucas Abrahão. Veiga, often considered a pioneer of magical realism in Brazil, is known for his eerie, allegorical depictions of the country’s rural interior. Abrahão, who describes Veiga’s vision of Brazil’s heartlands as “unmatched,” says the pair are “committed to doing justice to his vision”.