Machuca (2004)

89% of critics liked it
(37 reviews)
90% of users liked it
(6,060 ratings)

Political unrest helps spawn and destroy a friendship between two schoolboys in this drama. In Chile in 1973, as the leadership of socialist president Salvador Allende was coming under fire from the nation's military leaders and the leaders of several powerful Western nations (including the United… More Political unrest helps spawn and destroy a friendship between two schoolboys in this drama. In Chile in 1973, as the leadership of socialist president Salvador Allende was coming under fire from the nation's military leaders and the leaders of several powerful Western nations (including the United States), many in the country were inspired to address the issues of the vast gulf between Chile's rich and poor. Father McEnroe (Ernesto Malbran), one of the headmasters of an exclusive private school, decides to confront this matter by giving a handful of poor children a full scholarship. Pedro Machuca (Ariel Mateluna) is one of the new students, and while he and his fellows are picked on by the school's bullies, Pedro is a brave kid who stands his ground, and he's soon befriended by Gonzalo Infante (Matías Quer), whose rich parents live in Santiago's wealthy suburbs. Gonzalo's family is standing on shaky ground these days; his mother (Aline Küppenheim) is having an affair, and his father (Francisco Reyes) finds himself at odds with her increasingly right-wing political views. Gonzalo begins spending more time with Pedro and his family; he particularly likes Uncle Willi (Alejandro Trejo), who cheerfully sells flags to Chileans on both sides of the political fence, and develops a crush on Silvana (Manuela Martelli), Pedro's older cousin. But the political and economic differences that are dividing the country find their way into the school, leading to a rift between the two friends. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 1 min.
Directed By: Andres Wood
Written By: Andres Wood
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Feb 24, 2004 Wide
On DVD: Mar 6, 2007
Studio: Menemsha Films

Critic Reviews

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
A fine, exciting film that makes a bloody historical event live all over again by showing it through the eyes of children on the edges of the conflict.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
That rare film that merges the personal and political without sacrificing restraint or intellectual honesty.
Ty Burr, Boston Globe
[The film has] an unerring eye for time and place that's counterbalanced by an overly passive, if sympathetic, central character.
Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle
It's a sensitively wrought work that reveals a time in Chile when class differences were both ignored and emphasized, depending on your perspective.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
One of those special films that broadens and deepens as it goes on.
Karen Heller, Philadelphia Inquirer
Machuca is sweet, poignant, and winningly evocative of the period, though occasionally dogged by predictable scenarios and caricatures.
Marta Barber, Miami Herald
Though the film would benefit from further cuts, Machuca still manages to convey the frailty of convictions and the difficulties of growing up -- be it a child or a nation.
Ted Fry, Seattle Times
Thanks to a pristine eye for period detail and strong acting skills by the entire cast, there's no need for the script to press any points.
Bill White, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Chilean director Andres Wood sharply observes and re-creates the era.
Stina Chyn, Film Threat
[The film] examines how this unstable social climate strains the incipient friendship between two boys.
Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
Wood is content to pace his film with a methodic leisure that both suits his tone and stretches his story a bit thin.
Matthew Smith, Film Journal International
A visually stirring film that asks many questions about Chile's 1973 coup, without providing any easy answers.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Has moments of vivid clarity and power, mixed randomly with clunky samples of other coming-of-age films.
Jeanne Aufmuth, Palo Alto Weekly
Dense and well-crafted.
Arthur Lazere, culturevulture.net
The film succeeds...in fleshing out the central characters, lending credence to their personal experience of historically sweeping events
David Elliott, San Diego Union-Tribune
As perceptive about youth as were the French New Wave films, and in its wide sympathy and honest outrage extends some of the rich implications of The Motorcycle Diaries.
Donald Munro, Fresno Bee
Machuca doesn't just recite a history lesson for us - it lives it as only two children on the cusp of adulthood can.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Aaron N

A movie that takes an average coming of age template and mixes it with the true story of social changes in 1970s Chile. Good acting by the main characters, especially for child actors. If the title character, Machuca, was given more of a reason for his name to be the title than the… More
A movie that takes an average coming of age template and mixes it with the true story of social changes in 1970s Chile. Good acting by the main characters, especially for child actors. If the title character, Machuca, was given more of a reason for his name to be the title than the film could have been better, or have reached a different direction, but it is still a well made film, and I learned about some Chilean history that I was not aware of before hand.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "Machuca," it is 1973 in Santiago as democracy in Chile is undergoing its death throes. Gonzalo(Matias Quer) struggles to make sense of the chaotic situation as the only stores open are the black market. His mother(Aline Kuppenheim) has an affair… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "Machuca," it is 1973 in Santiago as democracy in Chile is undergoing its death throes. Gonzalo(Matias Quer) struggles to make sense of the chaotic situation as the only stores open are the black market. His mother(Aline Kuppenheim) has an affair with an older man to get the goods her family needs including the Lone Ranger books her son loves. At the private school Gonzalo attends, five indigent local students are admitted, one of whom, Pedro(Ariel Mateluna), he befriends, going so far as to help him and his older sister, Silvana(Manuela Martelli), sell flags at demonstrations.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Machuca" is an ordinary and superficial coming-of-age movie with strong echoes of "Au Revoir Les Enfants" whose sole distinction is its setting which it does not take full advantage of. "Blame It on Fidel" did a much better job of showing a conflicted world through a child's eyes.[/font]
Quinto W

The film may be a little slow, but it's also heart-warming, beatifully shot and rewarding. The director doesn't go for cheap tears, which the story could've brought, but rather goes for effective storytelling and painful realism in it's characters.