Crypto Boy is a Dutch drama film released on Netflix on October 19, 2023. It is directed by Shady El-Hamus and the screenplay is co-written with Jeroen Scholten van Aschat. The cinematography is done by Daan Bukman and it has a runtime of about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
The ensemble cast of the film includes Shahine El-Hamus as Amir, Sabri Saad El-Hamus as Omar, Minne Koole as Roy, Isabelle Kafando as Ima, Manoushka Zeegelaar-Breeveld as Jetty, Leny Breederveld as Ans, Raymond Thiry as Ger, Loes Schnepper as Bertha, Jonas Smulders as Danny, Kendrick Etmon as Suavé, Tobias Kersloot as Gianni, Yari van der Linden as Brian and others.
Crypto Boy Review
20-year-old Amir El-Neni is a self-proclaimed hustler, who has many ideas and a dream to become rich quickly. But doesn’t really have a supportive family that would back up his aspirations or even take him seriously. When he’s not delivering food for his father Omar’s Mexican restaurant, Burrito, he’s slingin’ moustache oil to naive teens to make some cash on the side. However, when the whole block is bought by Brownville, they are faced with the dilemma of leaving everything behind or paying the increased rent to keep their restaurant.
When Amir suggests that they should make this restaurant more hip to match the new vibe of the neighbourhood and attract more customers, Omar rejects all his son’s ideas. Omar, who can barely trust Amir to make deliveries on time, thinks his son is irresponsible and isn’t equipped to run the family business someday. He is adamant that he built up the restaurant & created a new life with his will & power. And he can do it for more years, regardless of how much the world might change.
But when Amir meets a charismatic crypto bro named Roy Warner, he sees a way out. Determined to prove himself to his father, Amir loses himself in Roy’s crypto start-up, while Omar grows increasingly suspicious of his son’s new career. Roy is everything that Amir wants to be – young, rich and successful enough that others look up to him. Anyhow he finds his way to Roy’s company, Crypcore Capital, and bags the salesperson job. When big money bills start pouring in from the first day, Amir decides to blindly follow Roy and his employees.
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While Amir is witnessing the life that immense money could offer, his father is struggling to keep the restaurant going. From renovating the aesthetics to delivering orders, he does it all on his own. But can one man really stand up against a big company, who has already bought up his long friend’s shops and the surrounding areas? However, cracks start to appear in Amir’s rising career when investing customers start showing up asking for their money & calling the company a scam.
The film highlights how the family often undermines the members they have seen growing up and often kills their spirits. In their eyes, they are still the little kids unable to make a sound decision but in reality, they just want to be validated for their learnt skills. Amir and Omar certainly care for each other a lot but fail to understand where they are coming from. Omar expects Amir to step up & take over the restaurant. Amir tries to do that but in his own new ways, which Omar disregards.
With the help of Roy, Amir finally finds a way to show that he can be useful & take care of the family. But finds it conflicting when he has to follow along with his colleague’s eccentric ways and often overlook his family. He had hoped that the money would solve all the problems and bring everyone together but the contrary becomes the reality. In a way, Amir and Roy are mirror characters with the same motivation. Even with a rich father, Roy has to prove his worth and chooses the wrong path to show that.
In an overview, the story isn’t something that you haven’t heard before but what makes it different is how subtly it is presented. It touches on the topics of chosen families, finding your roots, the glamourisation of instant success and how family support plays a major role in someone’s life. It’s a lighthearted yet touching story that many would relate to and can learn a good lesson from.
Rating: 3.5/5
Crypto Boy is available for streaming on Netflix.
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