vernon film society
Bringing the best in world and Canadian film to film lovers of Vernon and the North Okanagan
THE YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION
Director: Cao Hamburger
Cast: Michel Joelsas, Germano Haiut, Paulo Autran, Simone Spoladore
Run Time: 104 minutes
Country: Brazil
Year: 2008
Language: Portuguese, Yiddish with English subtitles
Rating: PG (Coarse language, violence)
“The filmmakers succeed with an unexpected ending. It's as fresh as everything in the movie, which turns out to be about so much more than one youngster's resilience.” - Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
REVIEWS: www.metacritic.com/film/titles/yearmyparentswentonvacation
Official site: www.oano.com.br/english
The second feature film by emerging Brazilian filmmaker Cao Hamburger, The Year My Parents Went on Vacation won immediate critical praise upon its release. This touching coming-of-age story was nominated for the top prize, the Golden Berlin Bear, at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival, and won the coveted Audience Award at the 2007 Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival.
The story is set in Brazil in 1970, when military dictatorships were on the rise in South America – wreaking havoc on the political economies of the region – and the Vietnam War was raging. But none of this matters to twelve-year-old Mauro (newcomer Michel Joelsas), who – like so many others that volatile summer – is more interested in the World Cup of soccer. Mauro’s situation, however, is rather distinct from that of other sports-fanatic children: his parents, left-wing activists, have been forced to go into hiding in order to pursue their underground activities and, in haste, they leave Mauro with his grandfather. However, the catch is that his grandfather isn’t actually around. Mauro is eventually and unwittingly put into the care of his grandfather’s neighbour,
a surly older Jewish man, Shlomo (Germano Haiut), who works at the local synagogue and has few friends. Nearly alone, Mauro faces many obstacles adjusting to his new situation, but his days are punctuated with bursts of joy and discovery as he gets to know Shlomo; the feisty adolescent Hanna; Irene, an imaginative little girl; the community Rabbi, who happens to be a huge soccer fan; and a host of diverse characters. As Mauro begins to find his way, he discovers that life can be simultaneously bitter and sweet.
Joelsas is a revelation as the young Mauro, and the rest of the ensemble bring the denizens of this transitional era to vivid life. Equally poignant and humorous, The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is one of those rare films that taps into the personal, the social, the historical and the political while staying true to its essential subject matter: the trials of journeying into adulthood.
“Sensitive, delicate and involving, The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is a silky-smooth dramedy about a boy thrust into the alienenvironment of a Jewish community when his politicized parents are forced to flee the country.” – Deborah Young, Variety
