Cebalord Very best movie i ever watch

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Abby Sawyer Wood's film is a touching memoir that takes place right before the coup d'état and the start of Pinochet's dictatorship of Chile in 1973. The friendship between the two boys tells the story from a different perspective, one that is not explicitly political but incredibly real and thought provoking. The relationship between Gonzalo and Machuca, two young boys living on opposing sides of the coup, accurately portrays the complexity of a situation that is usually portrayed as black or white, right or wrong. The music and cinematography beautifully enhance the mood and message of the movie. The viewer feels that they are watching one of their own memories unfold in front of them because of the ability to relate with the characters. Machuca leaves the audience with a feeling that the world isn't fair, and that there must be something done about it. Like most Latin American films this movie is good, but in a hard and difficult way; dealing with harsh realities is never an easy task.

guajolotl Machuca is a recipient of the Unidad Popular program of President Allende. Allende had nationalized industry and agriculture, and embarked on a massive literacy program for Chile. We are made aware of problems, however, Gonzalo's sister's boyfriend is scary, and later we see him in a fascist demonstration. There is no meat, no vegetables, no milk in the stores. Chileans will recognize the hand of the CIA in collusion with the Chilean oligarchy, and the counterfeit money that was introduced into the country by the US to create inflation and scarcity and bring down the regime. The coup happens, and the army takes over the schools. The priest who was the principal and the liberal teachers disappear, reminiscent of "Au revoir les enfants." It is useful to compare these events with those 30 years later in Venezuela. Hugo Chávez was 17 when Allende took power, and was very much involved in following the Unidad Popular and their program. He lived through the coups in Chile and Argentina, and learned a thing or two. Many on the left criticized Allende for not calling out the army, a mistake Chávez was not to repeat. Although he had no need to declare war against the coup, Chávez had worked for 30 years with his men as lieutenant colonel, and gained the undying devotion of soldiers and population alike. When the CIA-engineered coup happened there, Venezuelans were ready, and the coup failed. One could say that without Allende there would be no Chávez.

mckenna-olhasque I stumbled upon this film whilst flipping through channels. I quickly set the language to the original Spanish, I was so engrossed.I lived in Chile during the sixties and seventies, as a child and a teenager. I was one of the 'privileged class', and some of the scene were uncomfortable for me. But that's okay - they were meant to be.From a visual standpoint, the film is impeccable. But more importantly, it subtly brought out the contradictions within Chilean society; one line, that of Francisco Reyes, who plays the otherwise minor role of the Gonzalo's father, Patricio Infante, summarises the attitude of the moneyed class perfectly: "Socialism is perfect for Chile...just not for us." This should be required viewing for any serious student of Latin American history. Without pretension or melodrama, it presents - in the microcosm of Father Whelan's school and the lives of his students - all that was wrong and all that could have been right, in Allende's Chile.

Julian Diaz Wow what a great movie, it really describes the time when Chile was communist.I was on a vacation on Chile when I saw that this movie was coming out, I even went to the premiere, well I pass by the theater that would play it, and of course I tried to get in and of course the security guards kept me out. But I eventually watch it and get me realize what the Chilean people has to bare over the years, and how the events really made their people get more involve with politics than people from other countries. The acting is superb and the direction too, just a grate movie.