O Ano em que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias

Coming of age tales seem to be old fashioned, perhaps because we've already got so many of these stories that they all seem the same. "Amarcord" (perhaps the least conventional coming of age film ever made - but what would you expect from Federico Fellini's reminiscences?), "Pelle, the Conqueror", "My Life as a Dog", "Summer of '42" and "Radio Days", just to name a few, are unforgettable films. Naturally, these stories tend to repeat old clichés, but every now and then we get a fresh and sincere coming of age film, even if it's not innovative or particularly original. "O Ano em que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias" aka "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation" is one of those. It's not in the same level as the gems I mentioned, but it's delicate and touching.

Brazil, 1970: military dictatorship haunts the nation, and 12 year-old Mauro (Michel Joelsas) is sent to live in São Paulo with his grandfather (Paulo Autran), when his parents go "on vacation". While he waits for his parents to come back, Mauro roots for Brazil to win the FIFA World Cup for the third time. The movie resembles two good recent flicks, "Kamchatka" (Argentina, 2002) and "The Miracle of Bern" (Germany, 2003), in the way it has dictatorship and soccer at the core of their stories. Without being a masterpiece, "O Ano em que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias" is a nostalgic piece about an important time in Brazilian history. Besides, it was Paulo Autran's (one of, if not THE, greatest Brazilian actors of all time) last movie - an extra reason to check it. 8/10.

An absolutely beautiful film. We cried and we laughed. The boy is so cute and charming, but he still acted like a man when he had to. I'm telling all my friends about this little gem of a film. The political setup is based on very real events in Brazil at the same time that the international soccer star, Pele, was given an almost godlike stature in that country. The way the filmmakers manage to weave the political story, the personal story - of a boy waiting to be reunited with his parents - and the cultural "shock" of discovering the boy's Jewish roots was outstanding and very moving for me. I think this is a little gem, a masterpiece that will be enjoyed for years to come, like a Cinema Paradiso.

"O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias" is the most important Brazilian export of 2007, and as many said, a strong contender for the Academy Awards. The movie was beautiful: the cinematography, the music, the actors. The scenery was perfectly created and it looked perfectly like São Paulo and Brazil in the 1970's. With all that, the movie still failed to excite me or create any major emotion. The movie was very flat, and ran without a climax. Plus I wasn't very familiar with the 70's history, and the fact that the movie doesn't go deeper into the issues of the time got me a bit confused. I recommend a little researching prior to watching the movie. Overall, the movie was OK, but the characterization should have been developed further and some kind of bigger conflict should have brought excitement to the movie.

The premise appears simple, but that's only on surface. Suddenly, the country is divided between the euphoria of the 1970 World Cup (in which Brazil was champion for the third time) and the anguish of the dictatorship. That could be good material for biting social critique, but the movie takes a radically different path. It follows the life of a kid, whose parents are leaving for "vacations". He's left at his grandfather's apartment, only to find out that he died hours before his arrival. Finding himself in the unnatural environment of a Jewish community, having no news about his parents and having to live with a grumpy old man, he finds comfort in football and everything that deals with it.

Fans of the hyperactivity and non-linearity of City Of God will have to expect a completely different style here. While there are flashes of comedy and quirkiness, the movie is very focused and delicately paced. There isn't a lot that can be told here, really, and I won't go on spoiling the story. Check it out for yourself, if only to witness the clashing contrast between two opposite realities in a way no history book could deliver.

O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias (THE YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION) is an amazing little film from Brazil written by Adriana Falcão and Claudio Galperin and directed with panache by Cao Hamberger. It tackles many important issues (political upheaval, religion, ghettos, soccer, aging and more) while telling a very tender story about a young lad forced into a change of life that builds his character and his appreciation for the global community. It works on every level.

The year is 1970, the place is São Paulo during the World Cup Soccer Games, and we meet the young Mauro (Michel Joelsas) as he is swept away from his home by his frantic parents to live in São Paulo with his grandfather: his parents tell him they are going on 'vacation' while in reality they are escaping the dictatorial 'disappearances' that challenged the Brazil of the time. The grandfather lives in the Jewish ghetto and Mauro soon discovers that his would be host has just died. He meets the adjoining neighbor, grumpy old Shlomo (Germano Haiut), who begrudgingly takes Mauro in and allows him to pursue his obsession with soccer. The story winds through the disparities of Jewish life and the governmental changes that are disrupting the flow of this important year for Brazil (there are many film clips of the famous player Pelé which add to the tenor of the story), and as Mauro makes friends with a little girl Hanna (Daniela Piepszyk) the two children are confronted with the realities of political strife and the glories of Brazil's World Cup. By keeping the narrative (in Portuguese, Yiddish and German) to a minimum the beauty of viewing the world and its incongruities through the eyes of children becomes even more touching.

This is one of those films that allows us a vantage of longstanding problems and gives us a fresh view - a factor that helps our understanding of traumas of the history and awareness of similar traumas of the present. Hamberger delivers it with tenderness and is greatly assisted by the artistic cinematography of Adriano Goldman and the musical score by Beto Villares. It is a film well worth seeing at least once! Grady Harp