BRAZIL'S OSCAR ENTRY 'MY PARENTS' TAKES A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic Brazil, 1970. The whole country's going nuts in anticipation of the Pele-led national soccer team winning the World Cup. But in "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation," something bigger is going on. Twelve-year-old Mauro (Michel Joelsas) has football fever like everyone else, but his mom and dad have a real problem: They've gotten on the bad side of the junta jun·ta n. 1. A group of military officers ruling a country after seizing power. 2. A council or small legislative body in a government, especially in Central or South America. 3. A junto. in power at the time. Before going into hiding, they drive from their home in Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (bəl'  rēzôN`tĭ) [Port.,=beautiful horizon], city (1996 pop. 2,091,770), capital of Minas Gerais state, E Brazil. to a Jewish suburb of Sao Paulo and drop off Mauro in front of
his paternal grandfather's apartment building, swearing to come
back from "vacation" in time to watch the big games with him.
One thing they forgot to check, though: Is Grandpa still alive? As it turns out, no. The neighbors don't quite know what to do about the abandoned kid with the untraceable parents, but after some initial kvetching -- and after it's discovered Mauro's uncircumcised uncircumcised Urology Referring to a ♂ or penis which has not been circumcised. See Circumcision. , much oy veying -- they of course rise to the task, and affectionate bonding is spread all around. "Year My Parents" is one of those adorable a·dor·a·ble adj. 1. Delightful, lovable, and charming: an adorable set of twins. 2. Worthy of adoration. foreign kid/cranky old folks heartwarmers; think "Central Station" with mezuzahs, but minus the gorgeous photography. Tragedy, naturally, lurks around the edges of this one. Writer-director Cao Hamburger gets a lot of what he must have considered comic mileage from shots of Orthodox rabbis crazily cheering around a TV set, not to mention the enterprising little girl Hanna's (Daniela Piepszyk) business of charging the local boys to peep into the changing rooms
Otherwise moving in a push-button (electronics) push-button - A roughly fingertip-sized plastic cover attached to a spring-loaded, normally-open switch, which, when pressed, closes the switch. Typical examples are the keys on a computer or calculator keyboard and mouse buttons. way, "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation" was Brazil's official entry for the foreign language film Oscar. It didn't make the cut, which is about the only thing that puts it in the company of a great foreign political/character study like "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days." Bob Strauss (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss@dailynews.com THE YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION - Two and one half stars >Not rated: mild violence, language, children in jeopardy. >Starring: Michel Joelsas, Germano Haiut, Daniela Piepszyk. >Director: Cao Hamburger. >Running time: 1 hr. 44 min. >Playing: Town Center 5, Encino; One Colorado, Pasadena; Music Hall, Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. . >In a nutshell: Sometimes caricaturish, occasionally engaging sentimental story of a 12-year-old boy who's cared for by an extended Brazilian Jewish community when his parents go into hiding from the government. In Portuguese and Yiddish with English subtitles sub·ti·tle n. 1. A secondary, usually explanatory title, as of a literary work. 2. A printed translation of the dialogue of a foreign-language film shown at the bottom of the screen. tr.v. . |
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