From the film-maker:

What struck me first was the expression on the boy’s face. I felt that he was having several mixed emotions at that moment.

The story came to my mind when I read one of the interpretations of the painting: the fruits symbolise sweet things in life such as love, whereas the lizard indicates the bitterness and pain that come with them.

Therefore I decided to tell a story about a young boy who discovers a strong sense of sexuality for the first time, the point of no return. From this point, he will have both sweet and painful experiences with women…

In the shot where the boy gets caught at the table, I wanted to recreate the beautiful reflection on the vase in the painting, but it was not as successful as I hoped it would be.

Elly Nakajima

A piece inspired by Caravaggio: Boy bitten by a Lizard, 1595-1600