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The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (2008) DVD Review
The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (2008) DVD Credits:
The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (2008) Directed by:
Cao Hamburger
The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (2008) Written by:
Cao Hamburger
The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (2008) Cast:
Michel Joelsas, Daniela Piepszyk, Liliana Castro
The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (2008) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (2008) DVD Release Date:
14th July 2008
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The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (2008) Synopsis:

Set in the turbulent year of 1970, this poignant and humorous coming of age story thrusts twelve year-old Mauro (Michel Joelsas) into a maelstrom of political and personal upheaval. When his left-wing militant parents are forced to go underground, Mauro is left in the care of his Jewish grandfather’s neighbor in Sao Paulo. Suddenly finding himself an exile in his own country, he is forced to create an ersatz family from the religiously diverse and colorful population of his new neighborhood. Mauro befriends tomboyish, street smart Hanna (Daniela Piepszyk) and develops a crush on Irene (Liliana Castro,) a pretty waitress in a local bar where everyone, including Mauro, an ardent soccer fan, gathers to watch iconic star Pelé in the 1970 World Cup championship which Mauro hopes to watch with his parents if they return to Brazil in time…

The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (2008) DVD Review:


Director Cao Hamburger spent six months casting the two leading children in The Year My Parents Went on Vacation. In casting his lead, Mauro, a young boy who is left alone in a Jewish neighborhood of San Paolo in 1970, Hamburger supposedly held nearly 1,000 casting sessions. Watching Michel Joelsas in the leading role makes apparent Hamburger’s choice as well as the need for such a specific one.

The casting of Mauro is important because he is our outlet throughout the film. The film shows only what ten-year-old child Mauro sees, and although we may understand more than he does it is only from presumptions since the details of the adult world are never spoken about near him, therefore never for the audience to hear either. When Mauro is gathered up quickly by his parents from their home on Belo Horizonte they seem frightened, but Mauro is unaffected by the subtle hints in their behavior. Not until they arrive at Mauro’s grandfather’s apartment does he realize something is wrong. They hurridly explain to Mauro that if anyone asks, they have gone on vacation, although it is clear from their panicked tones and speedy departure that this is far from the truth. They don’t even walk Mauro inside the building, and when Mauro arrives inside he discovers that his grandfather (Paulo Autran) has died as they were traveling to San Paolo.

Left with nowhere to go and no way to reach his fleeing parents, Mauro is forced to stay with his grandfather’s neighbor, Shlomo (Germano Haiut), a cranky elderly Jewish man. Mauro also quickly makes friends with Hanna (Daniela Piepszyk), a tomboyish little girl who sells tickets to peepholes into the dressing rooms of her mother’s dress shop. Mauro is able to occupy himself with the upcoming World Cup Finals and peeping in on attractive women in their bra, but he never stops waiting for his parents to return from “vacation”. Italo (Caio Blat), a local man who is politically involved claims to know his parents, and occasionally Shlomo whispers things to him that seem related to Mauro’s parents, but Mauro is never entirely clued in to what is happening. The result is a unique coming-of-age tale, both intensified by the reality of a harsh time but with the light tone of an easily distracted child.

The DVD contains a featurette looking inside the making of the film, along with several interviews with the cast and crew. There are also some extended scenes and outtakes as well as a trailer gallery.

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The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (2008) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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