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Movies / On DVD / The Year My Parents Went On Vacation
The Year My Parents Went On Vacation

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The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (2008)

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Reviews Counted:52

Fresh:43

Rotten:9

Average Rating:7.1/10

Consensus: Hamburger deftly refracts the sociopolitical tumult of early '70s Brazil through the lens of a young boy's coming of age, and Joelsas' performance is wise beyond his years.

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: This Brazilian import is set during the excitement of the 1970 World Cup. While the country focuses its attention on the epic soccer tournament, a boy is separated from his parents as they are... This Brazilian import is set during the excitement of the 1970 World Cup. While the country focuses its attention on the epic soccer tournament, a boy is separated from his parents as they are forced to escape the country without their son amidst political turmoil. Meanwhile, the young boy must leave his home for the new world of a Jewish neighborhood. THE YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION was Brazil's submission to the 2007 Oscars. [More]

Starring: Michel Joelsas, Germano Haiut, Caio Blat, Daniela Piepszyk

Starring: Michel Joelsas, Germano Haiut, Caio Blat, Daniela Piepszyk, Liliana Castro, Simone Spoladore, Eduardo Moreira, Rodrigo Dos Santos, Paulo Autran

Director: Cao Hamburger

Director: Cao Hamburger
Screenwriter: Claudio Galperin, Braulio Mantovani, Anna Muylaert, Cao Hamburger
Producer: Caio Gullane, Cao Hamburger, Fabiano Gullane
Composer: Beto Villares
Studio: City Lights Pictures

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Year My Parents Went On Vacation

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A painless enough movie, which is precisely the problem

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
08/27/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

Heavy on nostalgic charm, but a lovely and insightful portrait of children buffeted by their parents' leftist activism in the 1970's and of São Paolo's Jewish neighborhood.

Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com | comment Comment
12/17/08
Nora Lee Mandel
Nora Lee Mandel
Film-Forward.com

click for full review

Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | comment Comment
11/08/08
Joseph Proimakis
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses

You've heard this story before, but what makes The Year My Parents Went on Vacation worth seeing is the unfamiliar setting...the Jewish community of Sao Paolo.

Full Review Source: Playback:stl | comment Comment
09/19/08
Sarah Boslaugh
Sarah Boslaugh
Playback:stl

a skillful combination of humor, sadness, and tension

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
07/25/08
Norm Schrager
Norm Schrager
Filmcritic.com

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is an appealing dramedy that delicately couches its political and social commentary in a coming of age tale.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
07/09/08
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

Steps into the shoes of youth remembered, a summer when a boy's wide eyes are opened further by disillusion--the final whistle sounds sharp and harsh, echoing long after the game's over. An elegant, reflective film that dekes around coming-of-age cliches.

Full Review Source: Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) | comment Comment
07/01/08
Brian Gibson
Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

... a sharply drawn coming-of-age comedy-drama...

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
05/15/08
Michele Kenner
Michele Kenner
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Joelsas' youthful exuberance carries the movie long enough to make this "Vacation" a rewarding trip.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Weekly | comment Comment
05/02/08
Sean O'Connell
Sean O'Connell
Charlotte Weekly

The comforting familiarity, even in a foreign country in a time of political strife, is what makes it quietly effective.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
05/01/08
Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly

Despite a few bits of low-key humor and some cheeky bits, the mostly charming film is actually meant to be taken seriously. And there are some poignant, surprisingly tender moments.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
05/01/08
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Director and co-writer Cao Hamburger presents all of this in such a timid and sanitized manner that one would suspect childhood wasn't a messy affair. Unfortunately for Hamburger, we've all been there, done that.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
04/30/08
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

Their performances (Michel Joelsas, Daniela Piepszyk) %u2014 natural, poignant and wide-eyed about what life will serve up %u2014 are things of beauty.

Full Review Source: San Antonio Express-News | comment Comment
04/25/08
Larry Ratliff
Larry Ratliff
San Antonio Express-News

A Brazilian dramedy that touches on politics, sex, family and religion but is interested in them only to the extent that they rub off on the movie's people.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
04/18/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

An utterly convincing depiction of childhood loneliness and uncertainty, in a world I'd never seen onscreen: the Orthodox Jewish community of Sao Paulo.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
04/18/08
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Director Cao Hamburger has a warm, delicate sensibility that informs the story's commonplace events. Neither the story's drama nor its comedy are overstated.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
04/17/08
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Heartwarming...This is a Year worth spending with Mauro and his friends.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
04/12/08
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

The most original parts of The Year My Parents Went on Vacation vividly juxtapose melting-pot conviviality with political turmoil in 1970 Brazil.

Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun | comment Comment
04/11/08
Michael Sragow
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun

Most political films involving children are vicious or sentimental. The Year My Parents Went on Vacation, set in 1970 when Brazil was under the military dictatorship of General Emilio Medici, is neither.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
04/11/08
Bill White
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

This Brazilian coming-of-age drama, co-produced by City of God creator Fernando Meirelles, charms because it rarely spells things out.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
04/11/08
John Hartl
John Hartl
Seattle Times
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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