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Mood:
- ContemplativeSincereTouchingCleverEmotionalThought Provoking
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Plot:
- Coming of AgeFriendshipRich and PoorSocial DifferencesPolitical UnrestSocietyYouthFamily Relations more...
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Genres:
- DramaForeignPeriod
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Time/Period:
- 20th Century70s
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Place:
- Latin AmericaSchoolChile
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Praise:
- Award WinnerCritically Acclaimed
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Based on:
- BiographyBased on True Story
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Attitudes:
- SeriousRealisticSlow
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Machuca, 2004
Spanish
Chile, Spain, UK, France
Profile of Machuca
Machuca can be described as contemplative, sincere, and touching. The plot revolves around being rich or poor, political unrest, and power relations. The main genres are drama, foreign, and period. In approach, Machuca is serious and realistic. The storytelling is slow paced. It is set, at least in part, at a school. Machuca is located in Chile. It takes place in the 20th century. It is drawn from a biography and originally a true story. Machuca has received attention for being an award winner and critically acclaimed.
Summary of Machuca
Set in autumn of 1973, amidst the backdrop of chaotic political upheaval, the Chilean film MACHUCA grounds a heartwrenching coming-of-age tale in a traumatic socio-historical moment. Directed by Andres Wood, a Chilean-born, NYU-schooled filmmaker of astonishing talent, the film unfolds through the eyes of Gonzalo, a quiet 12-year-old boy from an upscale Santiago suburb. With his freckled cheeks and bowl haircut, Gonzalo resembles Bud Cort in HAROLD AND MAUDE, awkward and wise beyond his years. When the idealistic headmaster of his private boys school, Father McEnroe, accepts a few poor children on scholarship, Gonzalo finds himself drawn to Machuca, an intense yet warm boy from the slums of the city. After accompanying Machuca and his uncle to sell paraphernalia at two political rallies--one advocating the socialist government of Salvador Allende and the other calling for its overthrow--Gonzalo becomes a fixture in Machuca's life. In a memorable scene involving condensed milk, the two boys even share their first messy kiss with the same girl, a hardened yet spirited neighbor of Machuca.
Amidst the blossoming of a life-altering friendship are constant hints of the political turmoil and class polarization that are disrupting the boys' country. When President Allende is eventually overthrown in a violent military coup, the youths must face the irreparable divide of their divergent socioeconomic positions. Richly written and performed as a textured relationship with elements of homoeroticism, the sentiments of friendship, love, and growing up are universal, yet they are certainly not timeless. Here, at least, they cannot transcend the conditions that surround them.
Details
| Language: | Spanish |
| Country: | Chile, Spain, UK, France |
| Release date: | 19 January 2005 |
| Runtime: | 121 min |
Cast and Crew
as Gonzalo Infante
Photos
Critics Reviews
Washington Post
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- by: Ann Hornaday
San Francisco Chronicle
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- by: Jonathan Curiel
