Yet the new classmates become buddies, paradoxically protesting together as Gonzalo gets adopted by Pedro's slum family and gang. But the adults spoil that too, not in the least when general Pinochet's coup ousts Allende, and supporters such as McEnroe. Not Rated. Did you know Edit. Trivia Because of Chile's newborn cinematographic industry there's a few number of professional actors.
Since the child actors in the movie were non-professional, the director worked with them for 7 months prior to the shooting. Goofs Silvana is standing by the outhouse, then moments later, after camera pans, appears on the other side of Gonzalo.
Quotes Gonzalo Infante : Stop seeing that old fucker. Crazy credits In the credits at the beginning of the film, the last letter of each word drifts slowly to the right separating from the names. Connections Featured in Sin maquillaje: Tamara Acosta User reviews 49 Review. Top review. A Truly Outstanding Piece of Film-making. This film reaches back and looks at history in a very intimate and personal way.
Its young protagonist is shown, growing up, not quite understanding what is happening around him. His own life is the middle of a crisis, and suddenly he is in the middle of his own country's political storm.
Gonzalo is one of the lucky ones, a young man who escaped the horrors while he learned how to become a better human being. Andres Wood's direction is assured and gentle. He shows his love of his country, its main characters, his own history there are strong hints at this being at least auto-biographical.
His film is beautifully scored and photographed; in addition to having one of the best performances ever by a group of children. The movie moves along quietly, touching us, teaching us, and taking us along in an unforgettable study of humanity at its worst and its best. Details Edit. Release date June 11, Spain.
Chile Spain United Kingdom France. Official site. Spanish English. Santiago, Chile. Box office Edit. Technical specs Edit. Runtime 2 hours 1 minute. Dolby Digital. Related news. When Gonzalo and Pedro makes friendship,they faces a new world for both, where Pedro is always the 'poor boy that can be a thief'and Gonzalo 'the rich boy who doesn't have any problems and a perfect life'. To get the situations worst,Chilean society is in one of the hardest transitions that already happened, from Allende to Pinochet, where communists are against bourgeois and vice versa.
In their school always have fights, and almost all the parents from Saint Patrick don't agree with the school new system. This movie is a good recommendation for all people and also it makes us think if having democracy for all will always be an utopia. Now, I don't claim to be an expert on Chilean history, but I'd like to think I know a good film when I see one Featuring a mostly none professional cast including a lot of children it deftly tells us of life in in Chile just before General Pinochet came to power.
It concentrates mainly on a private boys school where some new pupils have just arrived Met with racism and hostility, one does however find a friend. Both are from completely different backgrounds, but they bond over their love of comic books and bike riding.
Tragedy is on the horizon though. Amongst a backdrop of protests and political upheaval, it fortunately skips most of the boring stuff about who did what and when, and zooms in on the friendship between these two lads and their families. The rich kid is by far the unhappiest His dad is always away, and his sister is a promiscuous ditz.
The immigrant on the other hand comes from an environment where everyone seems to get on and help each other out, and his parents are an permanent fixture in his life though his toilet is absolutely disgusting.
It just goes to show, "money can't buy you love" as four moptops once said Reaching the whole gamut of emotions, this successfully involves you in the lives of its participants to a degree that by the end, you almost feel they're your good friends. We are constantly reminded that life is rarely fair, especially in a country like this four decades ago where democracy was apparently a dirty word.
Little did they know though, that things were about to get even worse Oh well, as sad as this all is, it make for a stimulating minutes, and one I can wholehearted recommend. DogePelis 31 May It is an excellent film with a good plot of friendship and political problems; it is one of the best Chilean films that have been produced, I highly recommend it.
Children eyes are very useful and beneficial cinematic vision preference to tell a story of broad happenings and big settings like radical social tranformations wars, coups, revolutions etc.
Giusseppe Tornatore, Italian director of Cinema Paradiso, had pictured an alone woman whose husband in the lasting war wasn't known about death or alive, her hard life conditions against poverty and patriarchal social norms by a little kid's eyes, of who falls in love. In thie film called "Malena" the kid's point of view provided to audience an unbiased position.
Resembling to Malena, Machuca, as well, pictures what two little friends witness in the transition period of Chile from socialist president Allende to military dictator Pinochet. It's a very profound experience to share children's testimonies on a specific and important part of world political history. Could have been truly great with that fantastic setting and point in Chilean history, with younger characters and a school as a great stand-in for a whole society, overflowing with material to explore.
A pet peeve of mine is when a film is named after a character but it ends up not being about them most at all, especially when a name could hint at better representation and more interesting perspectives. This film was an example of that. I hate that the girl's role was basically the film shouting "NO HOMO" about the two friends and then afterwards killed for emotional impact and the end of the boys' relationship. And I'm quite convinced the filmmakers can't write women, since they're either just extremely disagreeable or flat and barely explored.
The sendoff to the Principal was pushing believability but then we find out this was dedicated to this character's rl inspiration by the end so, okay, I guess.
The film is strong when it is confronting race and class differences, the damages of being neutral, and when it grounds itself in its history. The final moments with the lead is great and a big statement on privilege. Tighter focus, well-rounded women, trimming of unnecessary scenes, and consistent tone would have made this film reach its potential. Being illiterate in Chile's history of political coup of , I saw this as a complete outsider.
However it did struck me watching the bondage of two kids from different classes. There were a lot of questions which this film arose and it reflected a bit different perspective. I saw this another film on Communism of the same era "A sweet movie" that focused on a same topic but it took a different path.
This one had a child's perspective and remained thoroughly the same as seen by an innocent mind. However, nothing much happens here and it keeps showing what is required for a basic viewer.
I hope to get more political knowledge about such events before watching films. GeneSiskel 31 December The Village Voice usually has good film sense, but Michael Atkinson's external review of Machuca is unduly snide. True, Machuca adopts some standard plot devices. The boy's-eye view of big events seen in this film is not much different from that of The Boy in Striped Pajamas, Dead Poets Society, or for that matter Huckleberry Finn. True, many of the characters -- the kids are uniformly adorable, the adults less so -- are painted in broad brush-strokes.
Call them stereotypes if you must. That was a real blow to democracy, real hypocrisy, and real terror, 3, Chileans were killed, and a quarter million Chileans were displaced.
Director Andres Wood captures the sweep of the coup, some of it documentary-style and some of it dramatized, with real emotional power. He does so, not in spite of the production values, as Atkinson suggests, but because of them.
Gonzalo Infante's upper-middle class bicycle gives him the mobility he needs to visit Pedro Machuca's shantytown, but it is also a symbol of private property in the military's battle with socialism, and it contrasts with the fighter jets which fly over Santiago at the end. Gonzalo's mother dresses in a Jackie Kennedy-like pink suit, parks her widely admired and shared culo on the door of a convertible, and bangs a pan in support of right-wing values.
No wonder her son has trouble making sense of the scene. No wonder he forms his own pre-pubescent connection with a shantytown girl whose mother has also "left. Enjoy it. The friendship between the two boys tells the story from a different perspective, one that is not explicitly political but incredibly real and thought provoking. The relationship between Gonzalo and Machuca, two young boys living on opposing sides of the coup, accurately portrays the complexity of a situation that is usually portrayed as black or white, right or wrong.
The music and cinematography beautifully enhance the mood and message of the movie. The viewer feels that they are watching one of their own memories unfold in front of them because of the ability to relate with the characters. Machuca leaves the audience with a feeling that the world isn't fair, and that there must be something done about it.
Like most Latin American films this movie is good, but in a hard and difficult way; dealing with harsh realities is never an easy task. This is almost the first Chilean film I've seen, and I was totally blown away by it.
Seeing the three children rejoicing in a parade, one may already know that it's a serious historical film at least I did, especially when I related it to "Turtles can fly", another historical epic from children's view in the same year. However, you don't need to know very much about Chilean history to enter this story as long as you are familiar with the universal phrase of civil war.
The three children brought forward incredibly amazing acting, which is quite different from the way American young stars do. They are rawer, looser and more original. Also it's obvious that the makers put a lot of efforts in cinematography to show us surprisingly poetic and childish views of the period.
The story, though full of twists and turns, is as natural and convincing as one can be. It doesn't force your tears. They'll just come unaffectedly. After all, the pain of war is universal, and so is the darkness of society. Those issues may be far beyond our concerns, but the way people dealt with it is still worth thinking twice.
Wow what a great movie, it really describes the time when Chile was communist. I was on a vacation on Chile when I saw that this movie was coming out, I even went to the premiere, well I pass by the theater that would play it, and of course I tried to get in and of course the security guards kept me out.
But I eventually watch it and get me realize what the Chilean people has to bare over the years, and how the events really made their people get more involve with politics than people from other countries. The acting is superb and the direction too, just a grate movie. I absolutely loved this movie. It's very intense and feels intimate, as if we're directly watching Gonzalo's memories. We get immersed into this year old world: his comfortable house and posh school but also his reality with bullying, family issues and solitude.
And then we see this boy discovers friendship, love and fun where he least expected it. The growing tension in the country political and social scenarios feels like an adults-issue that impacts but not much these kids' lives. They still get to be just kids, everything is still normal for them, until it isn't. And that's when the final act of the movie comes like a bomb.
Watching the final part reminded me of WW movies and also made me reflect about my own country, which also went through a ruthless military dictatorship for decades. When it finally ended, I was devastated, but at the same time happy that I chose to watch this movie.
Everybody should. SFfilmgoer 17 July This is the story of the rich versus poor at the time of the military junta in Chile which took out Salvador Allende and replaced him with a military junta headed by Pinochet.
Two young school boys, one rich and one poor, befriend each other. The rich one invites the poor one, Pedro Machuca, into his world of relative wealth. Machuca enjoys it and takes to it like a fish to water.
However, changing political events in Chile change their relationship as the military takes over things. A good film, almost documentary like, which gives us a much better view of the events in Chile.
Because of the political nature of the film and because Chile remains friends with the U. Hopefully they will come out with a DVD eventually, but so far none in sight. The last 30 years of Chilean history is a tale full of pain, sorrow, misunderstanding, intolerance, twisted economic interests and searching of ideals.
In a way, this movie describes how this "story of pain" began and was developing until a horrible finale. It's not a movie about a dictatorship by a junta, or Allende or Pinochet, or a coup whatsoever.
It's about hate. An invisible enemy that was destroying an entire country, produced mostly by foreign economic interests. All seen through the eyes of two 11 years old kids, who become friends, in spite of their opposite social status.
When I was a child 5 years old or so I thought that was not proper to be talking about certain things. That every country had one president "elected for life" and that all communist people were terrorists, ordered by a superior chief to destroy peace, etcetera.
Obviously, if you were born in a fascist world, things may appear a little mixed up when you start growing up and begin to understand that a lot of people who "protect you" are just thieves of power who think square and don't understand basic concepts such as human rights or tolerance.
So I felt a little bit of healthy envy when I saw the main characters of this film, because despite all of the political and social chaos that surround them, they know the world as it was. They were born in democracy, but they didn't took it for granted, perhaps they didn't even care.
They lived their innocence, they discovered the power of friendship until everything was destroyed. That point of the film is unbearable. Machuca is a very good motion picture.
Not in an epic way, but in a very humble insight of what happened in a little country that lost its innocence, becoming a divided nation. A tagline of the movie says "dedicated to the children of yesterday". So the film is the vision of part of the filmmaker's own life.
I think a very accurate one. Machuca is a recipient of the Unidad Popular program of President Allende. Allende had nationalized industry and agriculture, and embarked on a massive literacy program for Chile. We are made aware of problems, however, Gonzalo's sister's boyfriend is scary, and later we see him in a fascist demonstration.
There is no meat, no vegetables, no milk in the stores. Chileans will recognize the hand of the CIA in collusion with the Chilean oligarchy, and the counterfeit money that was introduced into the country by the US to create inflation and scarcity and bring down the regime. The coup happens, and the army takes over the schools. The priest who was the principal and the liberal teachers disappear, reminiscent of "Au revoir les enfants. He lived through the coups in Chile and Argentina, and learned a thing or two.
When the CIA-engineered coup happened there, Venezuelans were ready, and the coup failed. I must start with saying that this is probably one of the best movies of the year if not of all times. It s set in the "revolution" days in Chille when the Facists came to power.
The story is about a rich boy who studies in a rich school when the principle decides to bring in poor students for free. Of course, the rich kids and their parents doesn't like it but it's not like the poor kids can't stand out for themselves The rich kid is making friends with a poor kid Machuca and they enjoy life together while everything falls apart around them.
And there is a very powerful end which I won't reveal, but you'll see it coming if you know history. The first thing that I've noticed is the cinematography.
You know how American movies are always aiming for a perfect clean picture. Well, I don't like that style, and that is why I liked the cinematography in Machuca so much.
The picture is a little dark and looks to be old. It gives the movie that is set in the 70's a real 70's feeling. It's very nice, even if the story gets a little boring for a second nah, the movie was great at every time the picture still makes it nice to watch.
The second thing that I've noticed is that while the movie is played mainly by kids they actually hold the movie very well. It's a very convincing acting, almost flawless. But the rest of the cast is very good too, the mother, the principle, I enjoyed the acting of all of them.
Also to complete a great picture there is a great soundtrack. The music is so vivid and placed well. It will take a while to get it out of my head. Oh, and another thing. I'm still only learning to appreciate a good editing it's not a trivial thing at all but this movie seems to get it all right. Every scene is on place and ends when needed, there are no useless scenes and there is no feeling that something is missing.
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