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The Year My Parents Went on Vacation

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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, August 08

Here we have a film that caught me off guard in so many ways. I did not know there would be such a cultural diversity shown in this film (prevalent Jewish community). The World Cup games being played at that time with Pele (film takes place in 1970, Sao Paulo) wove into another central theme not shown in the ads I saw. And knowing how dissidents were "taken care of" by the government during that period, I was amazed how this film addressed the topics of adults "taking vacations" (disappearing). This alternate viewpoint of how a child sees all of this, while still keeping the rating at PG, was done very well.

The story revolves around a 11/12 year old boy that is hurriedly dropped off at his grandparent's house in Sao Paulo so his parents can take a "vacation". Unbeknownst to his parents, the patriarch had passed away that day, but they left without discovering this. Now being left to fend for himself, some Jewish neighbors take him under their wing. The remainder of the film yields a beautiful story of how our boy learns about life, the World Cup, a dictatorship government, Jewish culture, and in the end - how to become a man years before his time.

Definitely the opposite of the City of God in seeing how children live in this city, but still eloquently told. A good family film, even if you don't speak either language (Yiddish, Portuguese). The subtitles did not display in every Yiddish scene, but I still got the jist of what was being said.

The DVD special features were ideal in discovering how a film like this gets made. And kudos to every actor/crew person interviewed (2 docus: Inside the Movie at 7 minutes and Interviews with the Cast and Crew at 10 minutes) as there was never that twinge of how "great" everyone is to work with and idolize. They just discussed the film and what it took to become the characters - it was refreshing.

I recommend this film similarly to Under the Same Moon. A well acted and believable movie that will leave you with questions, but in a way that makes you realize you just saw a good story.

The year is 1970 and Brazil's soccer team is challenging to win the World Cup. Its successful campaign should have dominated 11-year-old Mauro's year. But his parents are Communists and Brazil is ruled by a brutal military regime. They have to go into hiding and decide to dump Mauro with his grandfather in Sao Paulo.
The problem is, as Mauro discovers when he knocks on the door of his grandfather's apartment, the old man has had a heart attack and died. Here the movie indulges in a moment of unreality that seriously spoiled it for me. Which parents would dump their 11 year-old kid outside an apartment and not knock on the door to hand him over? And yet, without this totally unbelievable moment, there is no movie.
It turns out that grandfather is an orthodox Jew, whereas Mauro's parents have brought him up in ignorance of his heritage and have not even had him circumcised. So he is thrown on the mercy of the old man who lives next door and an unlikely friendship eventually grows up between the young boy and the neighbor.
There are some sweet things in this movie -- the acting is good and the relationships well-developed. But one doesn't feel the rage and pain of an abandoned child, left by his parents with no proper explanation.
Brazil does win the Cup but that's the only point that is truly resolved. The movie ends on a bittersweet note without really processing the meaning or significance of the year he spent alone in Mauro's life.

The sport of soccer is a source of national pride for the people of Brazil during the World Cup. This is one theme in the movie The Year My Parents Went On Vacation. Another theme of the movie is the separation of children from their parents during the Cold War and the opppression of people during the military dictatorship. Director Cao Hamburger presents these themes in this beautiful movie set in Brazil in 1970.

I watched this movie with English subtitles. There are some brief parts in the movie with no English subtitles to accompany the Portuguese dialogue, but it didn't prevent me from understanding it. I like the friendship of young boy Mauro and the elderly Polish Jewish man who takes care of him after his grandfather dies. I also love the friendship between Mauro and Hanna in the movie. Michel Joelsas is an excellent young actor who gives an authentic performance as a boy separated from his parents in the lead role. The performance of all the other actors in the movie are excellent as well. I enjoyed watching the bonus features on this DVD. There are interviews with the director and members of the cast. This is a moving and informative film about a country I knew very little about.

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is a beautifully told story which presents itself in a fashion that makes the viewer want to learn more about the main character, his family and the people who have chose to care for him. I was engrossed by the concept of this film from the first few moments. A child in need of a "village" to parent him. It is hard to discuss this movie without adding "spoilers" so I will simply state, I loved this movie and hope others will too.

The Year My Parents Went On Vacation is one of the best films I've ever seen--period. The acting is terrific and so is the casting; the cinematography and the choreography reflect excellent judgment. The plot moves along at a very good pace and I was completely captivated by the story. This is a moving coming-of-age story that will touch your heart every bit as much as it touched mine.

When the film starts we are quickly introduced to a young boy about 11 years old; his name is Mauro (Michel Joelsas). We also see Mauro's parents Bia (Simone Spoladore) and Daniel (Eduardo Moreira) rushing to get out of their neighborhood of Belo Horizonte and drop Mauro off at his grandfather's home in São Paulo so that they could go "on a vacation." However, with a scene or two of military troops enforcing the start of a brutal dictatorship, we quickly get the sense that Mauro's parents aren't exactly going on a vacation--they are fleeing the political tyranny that was increasingly taking more and more control of the Brazilian government in 1970.

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Mauro's parents, his grandfather Mótel (Paulo Autran) has a heart attack as he works in his barbershop and he dies; thus poor Mauro completely on his own in the hallway of his grandfather's apartment building. Mauro doesn't yet know this so he thinks his grandfather will return; but instead Mótel's neighbor Shlomo, a Polish Jew, discovers the homeless boy and takes him in, at least until Shlomo can discuss with the Rabbi and other Jewish elders in his synagogue what to do about Mauro.

Meanwhile, there is much more going on. We do learn that the mostly young Communists are fighting the new dictatorship and we see a great deal of them being arrested through Mauro's eyes on one occasion. On the other hand, there's also the thrill and excitement that fills the entire country of Brazil as Pelé and the rest of the Brazilian team compete with other teams; they hope to win the World Cup trophy yet again in an international competition. In addition, Mauro meets a young girl named Hannah (Daniela Piepszyk) who in turn introduces Mauro to other young kids in Shlomo's neighborhood; and it's great to see Mauro playing and running around with the other kids as a way to pass some time while Mauro waits for his parents to return from their "vacation."

Of course, the plot can easily go in any direction from here. We get the distinct sense that Mauro's parents fled from the new dictatorship and went into hiding--but do we get any proof of that? Will they return--and when? Will Shlomo take care of Mauro and essentially treat him as his own son forevermore if Mauro's parents never return? What happens when Mauro discovers that he is actually Jewish, a fact that his parents never told him? No plot spoilers here, folks--watch and find out!

The DVD comes with some wonderful extras; I particularly enjoyed the interviews with the cast and the main members of the crew; and we get a featurette entitled "Inside The Movie." There are extended scenes, outtakes and more!

The Year My Parents Went On Vacation stunned me with its incredible power; this is a superb motion picture than deals with life in Brazil at a very troubled time and the focus on the young boy Mauro is very well done. Because the film focuses on the events of the time as seen primarily through the eyes of Mauro, there are a few details left up to our own interpretation; but I think we can pretty easily fill in most if not all of the blanks. I highly recommend this film.

Poignant, sad, fabulously well acted film. Not a masterpiece, but this film is incredibly touching and so worth watching.

Set in 1970 Brazil. We follow several months in the life of an 11 year old boy. The title is a euphemism for the year that my parents went away to protest the Brazilian military rule. They know it's too dangerous for their son, so they leave him with the boy's father. The parents drop Mauro off in front of his grandfather's apartment building; promising to return before the World Cup soccer match. Mauro bangs on his grandfather's door, nobody answers. Sadly we find out he died suddenly that day. The next door neighbor, Shlomo a devout Jew, agrees to take care of Mauro. At first they hate eachother, and as time progresses the two develop a relationship. The rest of the plot is so worth discovering, it is a bad idea to spoil that process.

The acting is absolutely amazing. Mauro, played by 11 year old Michel Joelsas, could school many an older actor. He has such a charm, an innocence, a maturity, an observant eye. In the bonus feature interview, it was clear the director, Cao Hamburger (watch the interview, his last name is so appropriate), developed a relationship with Michel and got him to deliver such a good performance. Michel says he was in 170 scenes - a huge feat for seasoned actors. Germano Haiut plays Shlomo so perfectly. Another interview well worth watching. He is a grumpy old man, but warms up as the film progresses. It's not sappy, it feels real. Daniela Piepszyk plays the alpha female, Hanna. She was also 11 at the time of filming, and does a fantastic job portraying this amazing young girl.

The rest of the cast is equally outstanding. Hamburger even found a handsome young man to play the local soccer team's goalie and Irene's boy friend. Irene, the gorgeous young woman Mauro befriends, is stunning in her sweetness and sensuality.

For a director that has made very few movies, The Year My Parents Went On Vacation, is surprisingly well made. Hamburger uses light and mirros frequently. The effects are stunning - often times a person is speaking and another is seen reflected in a mirror or a pane of glass. A tricky technique at best to create two shots. In the deleted scenes, there is a much better ending montage. Hamburger missed the bookend at the end - early in the film, Mauro is told to eat, he's too skinny. There is a missed opportunity to close that loop with another character at the end (it is shown in the deleted scene).

The time and setting of this film was critical. Apparently, 1970 was an effervescent period in Brazilian history. It was the third world cup victory with Pele; and the peak of the military run government.

The film is shown in Portugese (Brazilian) with English subtitles. At one hour 40 minutes it is exactly the right length. The film is probably not rated in the US. It would most likely be PG-13; or maybe PG. There is no strong language. No violence. There is one scene where Mauro finds some older post cards of naked pin-up girls (the scene lasts maybe 15 seconds). Otherwise there is no nudity.

This is a special film. It is sad, but heartwarming. A wonderful visit with this amazing group of actors.

Excellent movie. What parents are willing to sacrifice to keep a family alive and together. Might be thematically problematic for younger teens especially where 1 or both of the parents have run out on the child. That is not actually the case in this story, but those without the mental capacity to decipher what's "behind the scenes" may come to that conclusion.

You will like the movie and it was well described by the above reviewers.

However the "product description" from Amazon is incorrect - there was no "Communist" regime in the 70's in Brazil, it was a fascist military dictatorship.

This movie has a very well written plot with a touch of drama and humuor.