"Bruno Madrigal and Self-Confidence (or lack thereof)"
https://www.tumgir.com/dororoxpenana
How lovely it is to find other Bruno fans, but I want to especially mention this post:
do you think Bruno is insecure about his body? throughout the movie his belly is almost impossible to see, makes me think he intentionally tries to hide itshare
Bruno Madrigal and Self-Confidence (or lack thereof)
Warning: my undiluted opinion
To be honest, I'd be very surprised if his stomach was the only thing he's insecure about. The scorn he had to live with and basically being called the reason for all things bad does easily lead to self-consciousness and self-deprecation.
Clothes
Bruno always struck me as more confident when he wasn't being himself. The first time I saw this frame:
https://64.media.tumblr.com/57e3b44589d7666513e4e707e9a55460/c2e12549f8ea2649-56/s500x750/64e190113d29f557c9c341deb886e924067f584a.pnj
I couldn't help but pity him, regardless of how quickly it flashes and we are shown his "mischievous grin" afterward. I could just imagine him walking through town on a normal day with his huge poncho, hood up, and never meeting anyone's eye. It's a barrier between himself and the outside world, showing that he rejects it because it rejects him. He doesn't want anyone to notice and, even worse, talk to him.
This frame gave me a similar feeling:
https://64.media.tumblr.com/4a45891e2f7eab8a817b23a020bcd655/c2e12549f8ea2649-e4/s500x750/90472f938615a7622db73f90e9ffc06675eed652.pnj
Of course, Bruno has trouble adjusting after being gone for ten years and mending his more than rocky relationship with his family and the townsfolk.
However, even though this short scene is meant to be a callback to the "I am Jorge and I make the spackle" joke and illustrate Mirabel as the "bridge" between the worlds, it made me very sad to see how Bruno thinks it's necessary to completely cover his face even after his return.
It doesn't speak of confidence that he needs his niece who is 35 years younger than him to give an object to a (random?) guy, despite standing right behind her.
And then there's Agustín's "She takes after you." comment to Julieta in direct reaction to the scene. I immediately thought of a young Bruno needing his big sister to speak to strangers for him.
There were probably many instances where Bruno was compared to other men in the village and especially his larger-than-life father, the savior of all (next to Alma, of course). He must have often fallen short next to them, in the literal and metaphorical sense of the word.
I mean, adding to the pressure Bruno was already under, who wouldn't feel bad about themselves when guys like Mariano are running around?
Perhaps, Bruno is so attached to his poncho because it adds a lot of volume to his frame. A hood gives thickness to slim shoulders, too. But, to the average viewer, it is definitely meant to be a comical exaggeration.
It always stabs my heart when I see how even his fitted undershirt with rolled-up sleeves is a little too big for him, and how the flaps of his collar aren't touching his scrawny long neck. Sure, it's not buttoned up to the top but it reveals the sunken bones in his chest.
He's covered from top to bottom, almost as much as Alma who uses her clothes to signify authority, reliability, stiffness, and a cool distance. Bruno, however, wants to hide in them.
Hair
We can also see that Bruno let his hair grow out from childhood to adulthood:
https://64.media.tumblr.com/e13606537f74daec87020d47183fc585/c2e12549f8ea2649-89/s500x750/b12c2aab49e4edeed5a48012e22508363e30a586.pnj
This is usually a sign of maturity and character development (also meant in the sense of a decline) but Bruno's hairstyle goes through the most dramatic change of all the characters we can see in the flashbacks.
You can hide behind long hair and use it to distract others from facial features you're insecure about. A beard can have the same purpose, I suppose, by covering a weak chin for example.
Posture and Gesture
Bruno is often portrayed as a nervous wreck in merchandise and concept art:
https://64.media.tumblr.com/cdec3e17e20396956bb6680f72007b14/c2e12549f8ea2649-ac/s500x750/84a323c113c4943629f0ec6b38bc328d748edaab.pnj
Not to forget his famous arm rubbing that shields his stomach:
https://64.media.tumblr.com/731fc472c5f6a34ac09a0f3cc9da4ecd/c2e12549f8ea2649-4f/s250x250_c1/ec4aed6004eb41572ebd95cda7c909181aea2300.pnj
Then there's his general fiddling and twitchiness, awkward smiles, muttering and mumbling... You get my point.
So, is Bruno insecure about his body? In my opinion, most certainly.