The Year My Parents Went on Vacation

It is always hard to resist a film with a little kid bonding with an old man, no matter how predictable the result may be. The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is such a sweet yet predictable tale.

The story takes place in 1970, a tumultuous and exciting time for Brazil. Brazil was under the rule of an authoritarian military regime and the Brazil soccer team was trying to win their third World Cup. The main character in the movie, a boy named Mauro is caught in the soccer fever overshadowed by his parents’ apparent uneasiness about the political situation. His parents drop him off with his paternal grandfather in a Jewish neighborhood and tell him that they are going on a vacation. They are in such a hurry that they simply drop him off the curb, expecting that he would find his grandfather inside the apartment. Unknown to the parents, the grandfather had just suffered a heart attack and died in the hospital. Mauro is left all alone with a kind old neighbor Shlomo to look after him. Soon the whole Jewish community has taken on the responsibility to take care of Mauro.

Writer-director Cao Hamburger compensates for the cliché scenario with believable dialogue, low-key naturalism and a solid cast. The portrayal of the Jewish neighborhood is so warm that you wish you could be a member. We also get firsthand experience about Brazilian soccer fever. Even though people may have different political beliefs, soccer is a bond that ties them all together. In one memorable scene, a group of leftist students are watching a match between Brazil and Czechoslovakia. One student proclaims that a victory for Czechoslovakia will be a victory for socialism. Yet when Brazil scores, all the students cannot contain their excitement for their country. All the elders in the synagogue also gather in front of their tiny TV and cheer for every shot Brazil makes. In a country so divided and oppressed for political freedom, a game gives them so much hope.

One of the producers for the film is Fernando Meirelles, director of 2002 Brazil hit City of God. Vacation cannot be more different from that movie. City of God dazzles the audience with its style and fast paced editing while Vacation is slow moving and realistic with a traditional story structure. I really wish that Vacation could have soared above the old-fashioned boy/old man bonding storyline, but it doesn’t offer any new or surprising twists to an often-tried formula. Unfortunately, Vacation is just OK, though I still think this film is worth viewing by people eager for a little diversion from Hollywood blockbuster and curious about a different culture and a different era.