"In 1963, thirteen-year-old Arthur is sentenced to community service helping the neighborhood Junk Man after he throws a brick at the old man's head in a moment of rage, but the junk he collects might be more important than he suspects. Inspired by the work of American folk artist James Hampton"--

It was a bitterly cold day when Arthur T. Owens grabbed a brick and hurled it at the trash picker. Arthur had his reasons, and the brick hit the Junk Man in the arm, not the head. But none of that matters to the judge, he is ready to send Arthur to juvie for the foreseeable future. Amazingly, it's the Junk Man himself who offers an alternative: 120 hours of community service; working for him. Arthur is given a rickety shopping cart and a list of the Seven Most Important Things: glass bottles, foil, card board, pieces of wood, light bulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. He can't believe it, is he really supposed to rummage through people's trash? But it isn't long before Arthur realizes there's more to the Junk Man than meets the eye, and the 'trash' he's collecting is being transformed into something more precious than anyone could imagine.

It was a bitterly cold day when Arthur T. Owens grabbed a brick and hurled it at the trash picker. Arthur had his reasons, and the brick hit the Junk Man in the arm, not the head. But none of that matters to the judge, he is ready to send Arthur to juvie for the foreseeable future. Amazingly, it's the Junk Man himself who offers an alternative: 120 hours of community service; working for him. Arthur is given a rickety shopping cart and a list of the Seven Most Important Things: glass bottles, foil, card board, pieces of wood, light bulbs, coffee cans, and mirrors. He can't believe it, is he really supposed to rummage through people's trash? But it isn't long before Arthur realizes there's more to the Junk Man than meets the eye, and the 'trash' he's collecting is being transformed into something more precious than anyone could imagine.