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.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

The first 15 minutes of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is dreadfully unbearable. It may put you in shock to see two wonderful actresses such as Amy Adams and Frances McDormand in such an over-the-top farce and indulge themselves in a seemingly world competition of who can open their eyes the widest.

In the movie, Adams plays Delysia, an aspiring American actress and singer in London. She has no qualms about using her charm to get whatever she wants and she wants plenty: money, fame and true love. McDormand is Miss Pettigrew, an unemployed, middle-aged London governess. Out of desperation, Miss Pettigrew steals Delysia’s address from her employment agency and finds herself as the social secretary to Delysia. She has quite a lot on her hands. To be precise, she has to help Delysia juggle three men in her life. The three men represents three things that Delysia wants in her life: a powerful mob boss who provides Delysia her nice London apartment and a singing gig in his club, a son of a famous West End producer who is putting on a new show that Delysia desperately wants to star in, and a poor piano player (played by Lee Pace) in the club who Delysia truly loves. I don’t think the audiences will need any hint, in this predictable farce, with Miss Pettigrew’s help, who Delysia will pick in the end.

The movie, based on Winifred Watson’s same name novel published in 1938, seems to mold Delysia into a character frequented by Marilyn Monroe in the 50s. With her wide eyed innocence, Delysia’s selfishness and shallowness is portrayed in a cute way, as if beauty and cuteness could provide excuse for any misconduct. It is hard to swallow this kind of concept in this day and age.

I have to admit half way into the film, the crazy farce pace has gradually mellowed into some touching romantic moments. Adams is always at her best when it is time to show deep emotions for some seemingly naïve character. Her duet with Pace of If I Didn’t Care is the highlight and most moving scene of this otherwise light-hearted fare. Adams has proved in 2005’s Junebug that she can act and in last year’s hit movie Enchanted she showed us that she can act AND sing. Now with her star on the rise, she is truly in danger of being typecast as some pretty, simple girl with abundant cuteness. She is so much more than just that and I hope that she will find some more challenging roles in the future.

Miss Pettigrew is a wish fulfillment sort of movie. Director Bharat Nalluri’s attempt to add some seriousness to the movie by having the pending World War II loom over the city totally backfires. It breaks the consistency of the film and only reinforces some audiences’ notion about why we should care about any of those self-absorbed characters when World War II is about to break out.

The real delight in this movie is an unknown actress Shirley Henderson. She plays Edythe, a shop owner who wants to marry a famous fashion designer. Her soft raspy voice and sarcastic manner is just right for the character. Like most of the characters in this movie, Edythe is selfish and can easily become the most unsympathetic one out of the whole bunch, Henderson puts real feelings into the character. The few scenes she is in are all done with heart and soul. When she delivers her bitchy comments about what women need to do to succeed in this world, her eyes are shooting out evil rays with tears ready to roll out. She is both tough and vulnerable at the same time. Despite her conniving ways, you still feel for her and, in some ways, hope things may work out differently for her.

Miss Pettigrew is truly a popcorn movie – light entertainment. At the end, the filmmakers even pour extra butter on all the popcorn we have just consumed. It feels way too buttery in my mouth and it has the kind of ending that really only happens in movies. However, for some of you out there who love your popcorn with extra butter, this may be just the right movie for you.