Review of The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (2006) by Ted M — 11 Jul 2008
It's 1970 in Brazil, and everyone is fixated on World Cup soccer, including twelve-year-old Mauro. His parents are political activists who must leave for a "vacation" for fear of the anti-communist forces running the country.
Mauro is dropped at his grandfather's apartment block in the city, unaware that he has just died. It is left to an elderly neighbour in the building to take Mauro in while he discovers his parents' whereabouts.
This film could easily have drifted into the stereotypical story of "innocent child melts heart of curmudgeonly older man". It is to the director's credit that it does not. True to real life, there are no huge "eureka" moments, just a collection of telling, smaller ones.
Mauro develops a crush on a waitress at the local diner, is in awe of her motorcycle riding boyfriend, and dances like a lunatic at a local boys' bar mitzvah. Yes, this is a coming-of-age story, but it's one that smartly avoids the usual melodramatic dross.
A moving story, well-told. Thumbs up.
This review of The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (2006) was written by Ted M on 11 Jul 2008.
The Year My Parents Went on Vacation has generally received very positive reviews.
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