Review of The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (2006) by Luis G — 21 Nov 2008

Watching this flick gave me a really strong sense of deja vu and it wasn't only till the mid-act climax when I begun to realize why... KOLYA! it had the exact same story line - abandoned son, a stranger taking him in, political turmoil in the background, the works! only the main difference is the boy here is already 11 years old while kolya was only 5. (kolya happens to be one of my most fave films ever btw).

Nonetheless, this particular movie was pretty good on its own, though there were just a lot of backstory loopholes that I felt took away so much substance for what could have been potentially a truly amazing movie. a lot of the cinematography was beautiful though and that one scene of mauro chasing down a blue volkswagen was just so heart-wrecking. but yeah, the movie leaves you a lot of unanswered questions and I guess it's just up to me as a viewer to draw my own conclusion. but hey, brasil never ceases to amaze/amuse me, so this movie was still a wonderful treat to catch! vai brasil! =).