O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias

Our cinema consciousness is very limited geographically. If we ever manage to look outside the American mainstream industry, we tend to think of only artsy French films and erotic Spanish novellas. This weekend though, I was given the opportunity to experience a country which I never would’ve even considered having any sort of standing to make a movie worth noting. My Brazilian infatuation continues with this post as I share The Year My Parents Went on Vacation with you.

For whatever reason, Brazil has managed to make it into the forefront on my mind lately. It’s purely coincidental though that my Netflix queue happened to reach The Year My Parents Went on Vacation at this point. I’m glad it did.

The movie takes place in 1970, a stirring time for Brazilians. The military dictatorship of the country had its citizens living cautiously while its national soccer team and Pelé were on their way to the World Cup in Mexico. Both of these play an important part throughout the film as Mauro, a 12-year old boy, is left at his grandfather’s apartment building in São Paulo in haste as his parents must flee due to their political activism against the current regime; they tell their son that they have “gone on vacation” to cover their tracks, but ensure that they will return before the World Cup.

The only problem: Mauro’s grandfather passed away earlier that afternoon. Residing in the Jewish district of São Paulo where Yiddish is spoken regularly, Shlomo, his grandfather’s elderly and highly religious neighbor, unenthusiastically takes the boy in upon realizing the situation. Upset with the circumstances and reluctant to immerse himself, Mauro eventually becomes acquainted with the neighborhood and its spirited residents.

I don’t know what it was, but The Year My Parents Went on Vacation had a certain charm to it – and I don’t think that there’s just one attribute of it that I could point to. The tenderness between Mauro and Shlomo (even when they were at odds), the historical and cultural backdrop, the cast of non-actors, the perspective of tumultuous times through the innocence of a child’s eyes, and the sweet song of the Portuguese language all lend themselves to this pleasingly engaging movie. It’s too effortlessly human to fit the glory and prestige of all the awards it won at international film festivals and Brazil’s submission for the Academy Awards, yet it’s also fitting that The Year My Parents Went on Vacation garnered this kind of recognition upon watching it. It may never surpass soccer and models as the nation’s prime attractions, but the Brazilian film industry just filled another seat in its audience thanks to this touching movie.