Now, I don't claim to be an expert on Chilean history, but I'd like to think I know a good film when I see one... and this fits the bill. Featuring a mostly none professional cast (including a lot of children) it deftly tells us of life in 1973 in Chile just before General Pinochet came to power. It concentrates mainly on a private boys school where some new pupils have just arrived... who happen to be poorer, and a different colour to the existing students there. Met with racism and hostility, one does however find a friend. Both are from completely different backgrounds, but they bond over their love of comic books and bike riding. Tragedy is on the horizon though. and things in this South American country will never be the same again...
Amongst a backdrop of protests and political upheaval, it fortunately skips most of the boring stuff about who did what and when, and zooms in on the friendship between these two lads and their families. The rich kid is by far the unhappiest... his mother is a prostitute, and takes him with her while she services her one client. His dad is always away, and his sister is a promiscuous ditz. The immigrant on the other hand comes from an environment where everyone seems to get on and help each other out, and his parents are an permanent fixture in his life (though his toilet is absolutely disgusting). It just goes to show, "money can't buy you love" as four moptops once said...
Reaching the whole gamut of emotions, this successfully involves you in the lives of its participants to a degree that by the end, you almost feel they're your good friends. We are constantly reminded that life is rarely fair, especially in a country like this four decades ago where democracy was apparently a dirty word. Little did they know though, that things were about to get even worse... Oh well, as sad as this all is, it make for a stimulating 110 minutes, and one I can wholehearted recommend. 7/10
Amongst a backdrop of protests and political upheaval, it fortunately skips most of the boring stuff about who did what and when, and zooms in on the friendship between these two lads and their families. The rich kid is by far the unhappiest... his mother is a prostitute, and takes him with her while she services her one client. His dad is always away, and his sister is a promiscuous ditz. The immigrant on the other hand comes from an environment where everyone seems to get on and help each other out, and his parents are an permanent fixture in his life (though his toilet is absolutely disgusting). It just goes to show, "money can't buy you love" as four moptops once said...
Reaching the whole gamut of emotions, this successfully involves you in the lives of its participants to a degree that by the end, you almost feel they're your good friends. We are constantly reminded that life is rarely fair, especially in a country like this four decades ago where democracy was apparently a dirty word. Little did they know though, that things were about to get even worse... Oh well, as sad as this all is, it make for a stimulating 110 minutes, and one I can wholehearted recommend. 7/10