The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is a movie about many things. It's about the process of growing up. It's about soccer, it's about politics, and it's about judaism. Somehow, all of these elements come together to make a touching movie that's just as beautiful and haunting as other South American politically and culturally charged dramas, such as "The Motorcycle Diaries."
Our main character is young Mauro, a 12-year-old sent to live with his grandparents when his own parents flee Brazil's totalitarian regime in 1970, under the pretense of "going on vacation." Upon his arrival, Mauro finds that his grandfather has just died, and it's up to an elderly jewish neighbor, Shlomo, to take care of him. Turns out that Mauro's family is supposed to be jewish, too, but the boy was raised outside of the faith, something Shlomo finds to be highly disturbing. Fortunately, during the course of his stay in Sao Paulo, Mauro forms a sort of family with Shlomo, a group of kids in the building, and other members of the synagogue and the neighborhood where they live.
The scenes in which the whole community comes together, for bar mitzvahs, funerals and (of course) world cup soccer matches, are particularly touching. It's sweet to see how much the people in the film's neighborhood care about each other and their country.
Mauro's confusion over what has happened to his parents is equally touching, although it's more heartbreaking than joyous. He is always hopeful, but continually disappointed, angry and sad. Michel Joelsas, the actor who plays Mauro, is a real find. He's earnest, sweet and utterly convincing. Daniela Piepszyk, who plays Mauro's fiesty friend Hannah, pulls off a clever, charming performance. It's not often I find child actors very praiseworthy, but these kids have really got it going on.
Engaging and lovely in every sense of the word, Cao Hamburger's "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation" is a movie that should have gotten a lot more buzz than it did. Apparently it was Brazil's entry for the foreign film academy award, and deservedly so. There are very few movies I've recieved from Spout that I'd want to watch again. "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation" is definitely one that will be making its way back into my DVD player soon.