The titular year in The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is 1970, a time when politics and soccer were the main topics of conversation for any self-respecting citizen of Brazil. Opposition against the country's repressive military dictatorship was heating up to a dangerous degree, but passions ran even hotter regarding the all-important Word Cup and Brazil's chances of winning it for the third time.
A Brazilian filmmaker with the absurdly juicy name of Cao Hamburger blends not only politics and soccer in The Year My Parents Went on Vacation, but also boatloads of local ethnic color, a cute kid bonding with a curmudgeonly old coot and a full-blown coming-of-age story. At the center of it all is Mauro (Michel Joelsas), a 12-year-old boy whose political-activist parents go into hiding from the government (the euphemistic "vacation" of the title) and deposit him for safe keeping at his grandfather's apartment. The catch is that granddad turns out to have kicked the bucket shortly before Mauro's arrival, and the boy finds himself cast adrift in an old Jewish neighborhood of Sao Paulo, depending on the kindness of strangers.
Most of what follows is fairly standard stuff detailing Mauro's exploration of his new world — focusing on his relationship with a spunky neighbor girl (Daniela Piepszyk) and his primary caregiver, a kindly-gruff old Jew named Shlomo (Germano Haiut) — but Hamburger's elegant, unsentimental direction and his young actor's skill at communicating apprehension give the film unexpected body. It's not The 400 Blows by a long shot, but you could do worse.
The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (PG-13) Stars Michel Joelsas, Germano Haiut, Caio Blat, Daniela Piepszyk and Liliana Castro. Opens May 2 at Tampa Theatre. 3 stars
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 6, 2008.