The Year My Parents Went on Vacation

PG

Released Feb 15, 2008

1h 44m

Drama

List

81%

54 Reviews

Tomatometer

82%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

The year is 1970, and Mauro (Michel Joelsas) is taken to live with his grandfather while his mother and father flee the politically repressive Brazilian regime. As the nation prepares to watch their team compete in the soccer World Cup, Mauro anticipates the return of his parents. When his grandfather dies suddenly, he is set adrift and befriends the characters who live in the surrounding Jewish neighborhood, all the while anxiously awaiting news of his parents' fate.

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Critics 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.

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dave s

In an effort to flee from a repressive military regime, before escaping, a young couple leaves their child with the boy's grandfather, unaware that he had died the previous day. Alone in Sao Paolo, the boy is taken in by the tightly-knit Jewish community, where, much like his escaping parents, he must come to terms with a world he is unable to fully understand. The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is a poignant Brazilian film set during 1970's World Cup, the only event that could bring a fractured country together. The performances are understated but effective, the hand-held camerawork gives the film a feeling of authenticity, and the script never allows the sentimental story to become maudlin.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The subtlety of its dreadful historical moment backed up by Michel Joelsas' innocent performance gives the film a powerful spin.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Relying on solid performances, this is an enjoyable coming-of-age drama that touches us and amuses us in the same proportion, even if it doesn't stand out as particularly outstanding or politically relevant despite taking place in this particular moment of Brazilian history.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I love when an audience stays quiet and doesn't move through the entire credits. This movie ended that way. I've got two thoughts; 1. I love Jewish People, and this movie did have a focus on Jewish people. 2. This movie left me feeling very ignorant. There is so little that we (I) know. I have never thought or imagined Jewish people living in Brazil, I did not know that Brazil was affected by the cold war, or that people went into exile as a result. I left with homework, as there are questions that I need answered...

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A very childish, yet sad and worrying, scope on the personal consequences of Brazil's military dictatorship, specially when it's seen throguh the eyes of a little boy.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/18/15

Full Review

Audience Member

A gorgeously written Brazillian film that tugs on the heart-strings and makes some powerful political commentary, "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation" is the sort of film that will impress any film fan willing to read subtitles. With the 1970 World Cup used as a backdrop, the film follows the life of a young boy whose parents have to go into hiding due to a harsh military dictatorship and has to stay with his grandfather in a Jewish neighborhood in Sao Paulo. The young boy is played by young Michel Joelsas, and his performance is incredible and powerful in a film-defining role. Meanwhile, the supporting cast that includes Germano Haiut and Daniela Piepszyk put in very strong performances. It's engaging throughout and touches on so much politics without becoming preachy about it. A must-see.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

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Cao Hamburger

Director

Michel Joelsas

Mauro

Germano Haiut

Schlomo

Simone Spoladore

Bia

Daniela Piepszyk

Hanna

Caio Blat

Ítalo

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Wesley Morris

Boston Globe

Rated: 3/4

Nov 24, 2011

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Joshua Rothkopf

Time Out

Rated: 4/5

Nov 17, 2011

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Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

The little empathy that the opening of the coming of age story transmits to me, vanishes when I witness the triviality of innocence, the calculated sentimentality. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 6/10

Aug 6, 2020

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

Has an authenticity and sense of genuineness that is truly beautiful.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jul 6, 2019

Full Review

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

A painless enough movie, which is precisely the problem

Aug 27, 2009

Full Review

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Synopsis

The year is 1970, and Mauro (Michel Joelsas) is taken to live with his grandfather while his mother and father flee the politically repressive Brazilian regime. As the nation prepares to watch their team compete in the soccer World Cup, Mauro anticipates the return of his parents. When his grandfather dies suddenly, he is set adrift and befriends the characters who live in the surrounding Jewish neighborhood, all the while anxiously awaiting news of his parents' fate.

Director: Cao Hamburger
Producer: Caio Gullane, Fabiano Gullane, Sonia Hamburger
Screenwriter: Claudio Galperin, Cao Hamburger, Bráulio Mantovani, Anna Muylaert
Distributor: City Lights Pictures
Production Co: Gullane, Globo Filmes, Miravista
Rating: PG (Smoking|Mild Language|Brief Suggestive Content|Some Violence|Thematic Material)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Portuguese (Brazil)
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 15, 2008, Limited
Release Date (DVD): Jul 15, 2008
Runtime: 1h 44m