The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (2006)
"O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias" (original title)

A boy is left alone in a Jewish neighborhood in the year of 1970, where both world cup and dictatorship happen in Brazil.

Director:

Cao Hamburger

Writers:

Adriana Falcão (script collaborator), Claudio Galperin,

Stars:

Michel Joelsas, Germano Haiut, Paulo Autran

22 wins & 26 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Michel Joelsas	...	Mauro
Germano Haiut	...	Shlomo
Paulo Autran	...	Mótel, Mauro's grandfather
Simone Spoladore	...	Bia - Mauro's mother
Eduardo Moreira	...	Daniel, Mauro's father
Caio Blat	...	Ítalo
Daniela Piepszyk	...	Hanna
Liliana De Castro	...	Irene (as Liliana Castro)
Rodrigo dos Santos	...	Edgar
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Felipe Hanna Braun	...	Caco
Gabriel Eric Bursztein	...	Bóris
Abrahão Farc	...	Anatol
Haim Fridman	...	Duda
Edu Guimarães	...	Alfredo
Gérson	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

In 1970, near the World Cup, Daniel Stern and his wife Miriam leaves Belo Horizonte in a hurry and scared with their ten years old son Mauro in their Volkswagen. While traveling to São Paulo, the couple explains Mauro that they will travel on vacation and will leave Mauro with his grandfather Mótel. Daniel promises to return before the first game of the Brazilian National Soccer Team in the Cup. The boy is left in Bom Retiro, a Jewish and Italian neighborhood, and waits for Mótel in front of his apartment. When the next door neighbor Shlomo arrives, he tells the boy that Mótel had just had a heart attack and died. Alone and without knowing where his parents are, the boy is lodged by Shlomo and the Jewish community. Through the young neighbor Hanna, Mauro makes new friends, cheers for the Brazilian team and sees the movement of the police and militaries on the streets while waiting for his parents.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | jewish | 1970s | world cup | brazil | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic material, mild language, brief suggestive content, some violence and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [br] Official site [br] (English)

Country:

Brazil

Language:

Portuguese Yiddish Hebrew

Release Date:

2 November 2006 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation

Filming Locations:

Bom Retiro, São Paulo, Brazil

Box Office

Budget:

BRL 3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$233,475 (Brazil) (3 November 2006)

Gross:

$873,942 (Brazil) (24 November 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gullane Filmes, Caos Produções Cinematográficas, Miravista

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 104 min (theatrical and DVD) 104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Cao Hamburger spent half a year finding the two leads. There were about 1,000 auditions for the part of Mauro and 200 for Hanna.

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Connections

Referenced in To Each His Own Cinema (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Eu Sou Terrível"
Written by Roberto Carlos & Erasmo Carlos
Performed by Roberto Carlos

User Reviews

World Cup and Dictatorship in a Milestone of Brazilian Contemporary History

In 1970, near the World Cup, Daniel Stern (Eduardo Moreira) and his wife Miriam (Simone Spoladore) leaves Belo Horizonte in a hurry and scared with their ten years old son Mauro (Michel Joelsas) in their Volkswagen. While traveling to São Paulo, the couple explains Mauro that they will travel on vacation and will leave Mauro with his grandfather Mótel (Paulo Autran). Daniel promises to return before the first game of the Brazilian National Soccer Team in the Cup. The boy is left in Bom Retiro, a Jewish and Italian neighborhood, and waits for Mótel in front of his apartment. When the next door neighbor Shlomo (Germano Haiut) arrives, he tells the boy that Mótel had just had a heart attack and died. Alone and without knowing where his parents are, the boy is lodged by Shlomo and the Jewish community. Through the young neighbor Hanna (Daniela Piepszyk), Mauro makes new friends, cheers for the Brazilian team and sees the movement of the police and militaries on the streets while waiting for his parents.

In 1970, 90 millions of Brazilians were cheering for the National Soccer Team in the World Cup while the dictatorship had the toughest and cruelest moment against the opposition. I found this touching and sensitive movie amazing, since the director Cao Hamburger was able to brilliantly work with amateurish children and achieve outstanding performances, exposing the political situation of that milestone of Brazilian contemporary history through the eyes of a middle-class boy of ten years old. For me, it is absolutely impressive because I had approximately the same age of Mauro in 1970 and I lived that moment going to school, playing soccer and buttons, going to the beach and to the movie theater and cheering for our National Soccer Team without knowing or understanding clearly what was happening. The story is very simple and dramatic, but never corny, and the very convincing performances of the cast is awesome and touching. Michel Joelsas and Daniela Piepszyk have key roles in the story and I dare to write that two stars are born. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias, O" ("The Year When My Parents Went on Vacation")