Goodbye Momo

The protagonist of this wispy tale is Obdulio (Acua), a plucky 11-year-old Afro-Uruguayan who hawks newspapers to raise money for his sisters’ school uniforms while ignoring his grandmother’s pleas to educate himself. Fortunately, the noble tween soon hooks up with said paper’s night guard (Esmoris), a mystical figure who not only teaches him the value of literacy, but introduces him to the whimsical world of the Uruguayan carnival. Swept away, Obdulio learns requisite lessons about knowledge and friendship, but it’s unlikely that audiences will be sufficiently engaged to share the boy’s flights of fancy. (Opens Fri; Quad.) — Erin Clements