Machuca

Colleen A. Vasconcellos

Film Review: Machuca
Director:  Andres Wood
Release Date (USA):  October 2005
Availability:  Netflix

Set in Santiago, Chile, in the brief days before a fierce coup which would topple Allende's socialist government in 1973, Chilean director Andres Wood's brilliant film Machuca (2004) tells the story of this revolution through the eyes of two eleven year old boys struggling to deal with their own complicated childhoods in the midst of such political turmoil. Pedro Machuca, played by Santiago-born Ariel Mateluna, is a young boy of Amerindian descent from the wrong side of the tracks attending a posh private school with Gonzalo Infante, played by Mat’as Quer, a boy from a more affluent family.  As would be expected, Pedro's time in school is not easy and many of his own classmates spend their free time bullying him. Gonzalo befriends the outsider and takes him under his wing, and the two embark on a friendship that becomes tested by the political environment around them. 

As the movie progresses, the boys become two peas in a pod. Economic opposites, each boy has something to offer the other, and their personalities and experiences balance each other out. While Gonzalo's life has been sheltered and carefree, Pedro's childhood has been anything but secure in such extreme poverty. In fact, Pedro's admission to this school is an experiment in socialist benevolence conducted by the priests running the school, a fact that has not been kept secret from the children in Pedro's class. Therefore, to Pedro, Gonzalo has it all. Yet, Pedro learns that such affluence does not come without its own problems, as he sees his young friend deal with an unfaithful mother. Young Gonzalo is often taken along with his mother on her afternoon trysts, only to have to wait in sitting rooms and hallways while she takes care of her own needs. He has to watch his own father deal with the knowledge of her infidelity without fighting for his own marriage. 

So, the boys are perfect for each other, and they become fast friends who rely on each other for friendship, validation, and security. While introducing and educating each other about their vastly different worlds, Pedro and Gonzalo still act like two eleven year olds. They both share a devotion to Lone Ranger comic books. They enter into kissing games with Gonzalo's young neighbor Silvana, played by Manuela Martelli. So, while they have very real problems of poverty and unstable home environments, the two boys definitely act their age, and often a little below their age.

Yet, Andres Wood is extremely careful to portray a less than perfect childhood.   Life in Santiago during the early 1970s is anything but comfortable for any class of society as the country drifts towards civil war. Based on his own childhood during this turbulent time, Wood is able to recreate the political environment as he works to create a childhood on film. When Allende came to power in 1970, the Chilean economy and society were already racked by stagnation, inflation, and unequal income distribution. The majority of the Chileans were members of the lower classes teetering on the poverty line, but most already sinking well below it. Under Allende's mismanagement, these economic and social conditions only worsened. So, by the time Wood's film begins, you can clearly see these problems and how Chileans from both the lower and upper classes are dealing with them. Yet, while you see the economic instability just before the coup, you also see the political environment that is beginning to take a life of its own in 1973. 

The viewer sees signs throughout the film that Allende's end is imminent, and Wood is careful to add subtleties like signs in shop windows alerting customers to the shortage of milk, butter, and eggs. More and more demonstrations are seen as the film progresses, and Wood uses the young Silvana to merge the history of the period with the boys' story. While the young Silvana educates the boys in the art of kissing, she also introduces them to the political instability that is Santiago just before Allende was overthrown. Under her tutelage, the boys take part in protest marches, chanting as loudly as the adults marching for the Left. They sell cigarettes and flags to demonstrators from both camps, whether they be for the Left or for the Right. Yet, the kids realize that they can only do so much. They are just kids after all. 

This realization is brought even harder when the coup erupts in September of 1973. Troops led by General Pinochet storm the capital and bomb the palace, but Allende refuses to surrender. He will ultimately die in this coup. In the midst of this revolution, we see Pedro and Gonzalo struggle with the changes taking place in the world around them. While their personal problems are still very real, now they are experiencing childhood in the midst of a civil war. Suddenly their worlds become different, and that gap between their classes is becoming all too real. As a result, the kids must face certain moral tests that no child should have to face.

Machuca is a wonderful film, and it is highly recommended by this reviewer, not only for a personal viewing, but also for a variety of classes on childhood and Latin American History.  In 2004, Machuca was nominated for eleven awards, winning a total of eight. It is in Spanish, but English subtitles are available, and it runs about two hours.  For more information on this film, please visit Machuca's official website at http://www.machucacine.cl/.