Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

FilmCriticLalitRao "Machuca" is an excellent film for all ages made by Chilian filmmaker Andres Wood.The best thing which can be said about "Machuca" is that it is one the those rare films which are a superb visual statement on human condition.It is true that young children will surely have a lot to learn from this film but adults can also learn a thing or two if they make up their minds to reduce conflicts in the world.Some of the major issues discussed in this film are about friendship,sexual awakening,class differences,trouble at home,trouble with church and trouble with military.In this film it is nice to see how two young boys tackle above mentioned themes with courage,determination and dignity.A moral lesson to be learn from "Machuca" is that weak souls are strong in dealing with all kinds of emotional adversities.Although films featuring young protagonists are a common trend in the annals of world cinema nevertheless Muachuca remains a totally different film as it is about self discovery,knowing one's limitations and keeping one's head straight even in the times of adversities.This is a must see film for all admirers of serious cinema,meaningful films and Latin American history.

finn_ You know, best movies are so intense that you can even taste them. You sit there in the dark glued to your seat and you forget time, your popcorn and companion. This movie was definitely one of them.Machuca has a strong political undercurrent. We see how the tension between poor socialists and the wealthy right-wing nationalists accumulates to the violent outburst. The brutal coup d'etat was orchestrated by the CIA and the US foreign office and will always remain as one of the most shameful actions ever taken by the US government.However, for me the political circumstances were a setting for a story of friendship beyond boundaries of class, wealth or color of a skin.Now, Machuca is not the first film to depict friendship of two persons coming from different backgrounds, but it is astonishing in its honesty. Why did it feel so real? Not once it felt emotionally calculated nor pretentious. That's a sign of a great director. Also the young actors were very convincing. Actually, I can hardly believe they knew there was a camera around.Another amazing factor in this movie was the authenticity in which it showed us the complexness of life and relationships. It's not easy, growing up, and honestly we adults really often make it more hard than it ought to be. Folks, this ain't Disney. It's rough and tough movie (but not totally without humor). I felt sad and empty afterwards but I know for right reasons. 10 out of 10.

j-timbers This is the story of the relationship between a boy from a middle class suburb and two children from a shanty town in Santiago during the dying days of Allende's democratically elected communist government, which as we know was overthrown by a cruel military dictatorship with CIA involvement.As others have pointed out this film does not idealise the Allende government, which was inspired by high ideals, but arguably created economic chaos in Chile. What it does do is explore the reality of class in terms of the relationship between the children. It is a coming-of-age movie in a time of political terror, where the moral and emotional realisations are linked to social and political developments, which both heighten the love between the central characters and intensify their separation and aloneness.The Far Left and the Far Right (like the US Republican Party and Fascists/ Baathists etc.)might both have difficulties with the way that morally compromising reality defeats propaganda in this film.Ken Loach, eat you heart out!

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.