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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)

84%
100%
88%
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84 %
Reviews Counted: 45 Fresh: 38  Rotten:7 Average Rating: 7.2/10
 
Consensus: Hamburger deftly refracts sociopolitical tumult through coming of age. 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. more
 
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
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 forced to escape the country without their son amidst political turmoil. Meanwhile, the young boy... [More]
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. [Less]

Genre: Foreign Films

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

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

DVD Info

Release:

Mar 7, 2009

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen

Audio:

  • Unspecified - Spanish
  • Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - 1. Director 2. Producer
  • Featurette - 1. INSIDE THE MOVIE
  • Outtakes

Text/ Photo Gallery:

  • Stills

Reviews

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

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

Full Review | Comment
05/15/08 05:08 PM
Michele Kenner
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Ratings Image

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

Full Review | Comment
05/02/08 01:14 PM
Sean O'Connell
Charlotte Weekly
Ratings Image

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

Full Review | Comment
05/01/08 08:07 PM
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly
Ratings Image

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 | Comment
05/01/08 03:05 PM
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Ratings Image

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 | Comment
04/30/08 03:51 PM
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing
Ratings Image

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 | Comment
04/25/08 03:40 PM
Larry Ratliff
San Antonio Express-News
Ratings Image

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 | Comment
04/18/08 01:21 PM
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Ratings Image

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 | Comment
04/18/08 07:43 AM
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Ratings Image

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 | Comment
04/17/08 03:16 PM
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Ratings Image

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

Full Review | Comment
04/12/08 01:55 PM
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
Ratings Image

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 | Comment
04/11/08 01:20 PM
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun
Ratings Image

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 | Comment
04/11/08 01:05 PM
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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This Brazilian coming-of-age drama, co-produced by City of God creator Fernando Meirelles, charms because it rarely spells things out.

Full Review | Comment
04/11/08 01:03 PM
John Hartl
Seattle Times
Ratings Image

Be patient and brace yourself for the climax; the wait is definitely worthwhile.

Full Review | Comment
03/28/08 12:59 PM
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
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A gentle coming-of-age film set in 1970 Brazil.

Full Review | Comment
03/28/08 12:56 PM
Jane Stevenson
Jam! Movies
Ratings Image

Director Cao Hamburger, a Brazilian of Italian and German descent, treats this development with a very light hand.

Full Review | Comment
03/28/08 12:55 PM
Philip Marchand
Toronto Star
Ratings Image

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation seems to be about, in the end, is big-time sport as the opiate of the masses.

Full Review | Comment
03/27/08 01:30 PM
John Anderson
Washington Post
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The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is a meticulous, fascinating and tender story of Brazil in 1970 when revolution was in the air and the World Cup was the hope of bringing a country back together.

Full Review | Comment
03/23/08 09:51 PM
Adam Fendelman
HollywoodChicago.com
Ratings Image

Joelsas does an incredible job carrying a movie on his tiny shoulders.

Full Review | Comment
03/21/08 01:20 PM
Shawn Levy
Oregonian
Ratings Image

This nuanced coming-of-age drama by Cao Hamburger exudes warmth without getting mired in nostalgia.

Full Review | Comment
03/21/08 01:16 PM
Andrea Gronvall
Chicago Reader
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3
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