Machuca
Encyclopedia
Machuca is a 2004
Chile
an film written and directed by Andrés Wood. Set in 1973 Santiago during Salvador Allende
's socialist government and shortly before General Augusto Pinochet
's military coup in 1973, the film tells the story of two friends, one of them the very poor Pedro Machuca who is integrated into the elite school of his friend Gonzalo Infante. The social integration project is headed by the director of the school, Father McEnroe.
The film is dedicated to Father Gerardo Whelan, who from 1969 to 1973 was the director of Colegio Saint George (Saint George's College
), the private English-language school in Santiago that the film's director attended as a boy.
Machuca performed well in theaters in Chile, but did not have notable box-office success outside of Latin America.
When the military coup d'état is launched which brutally represses poor and activist Chileans, including his friends and Father McEnroe, his own class status comes into relief. Moments after witnessing the murder of a lower-class young girl named Silvana by soldiers clearing a shantytown, Infante is nearly arrested himself. He pleads with the soldier to recognize that he does not belong to this shantytown. The soldier is only convinced after noticing Gonzalo's blonde hair, pale complexion, and more expensive clothing. Thus, Infante is forced to abandon his friend, using his class status as a free pass.
At the end of the movie, his family moves into a new, more opulent home. The audience is meant to understand, along with Infante, that this new wealth is connected to the brutal repression of the Chilean masses, who had hoped for real societal change by attempting to create a socialist society.
in the category Best Iberoamerican Film. It won Most Popular International Film at the 2004 Vancouver International Film Festival
.
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an film written and directed by Andrés Wood. Set in 1973 Santiago during Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
's socialist government and shortly before General Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
's military coup in 1973, the film tells the story of two friends, one of them the very poor Pedro Machuca who is integrated into the elite school of his friend Gonzalo Infante. The social integration project is headed by the director of the school, Father McEnroe.
The film is dedicated to Father Gerardo Whelan, who from 1969 to 1973 was the director of Colegio Saint George (Saint George's College
Saint George's College
Saint George’s College, founded in 1936 and run by the Congregation of Holy Cross, is among the most exclusive and upper-class schools in Santiago, Chile...
), the private English-language school in Santiago that the film's director attended as a boy.
Machuca performed well in theaters in Chile, but did not have notable box-office success outside of Latin America.
Synopsis
The film is not intended to provide an overview of this period in Chilean history. Rather, it shows the perspective of Gonzalo Infante, a privileged boy who catches a glimpse of the world of the lower class through Machuca, at a moment when the lower classes are politically mobilized, demanding more rights and forcing fundamental change. At the same time the upper classes, including Gonzalo's own family, grow fearful of the growing socialist movement and plot against the country's elected president, Salvador Allende. Infante's sympathies, however, clearly lie with the poor based on what he has seen.When the military coup d'état is launched which brutally represses poor and activist Chileans, including his friends and Father McEnroe, his own class status comes into relief. Moments after witnessing the murder of a lower-class young girl named Silvana by soldiers clearing a shantytown, Infante is nearly arrested himself. He pleads with the soldier to recognize that he does not belong to this shantytown. The soldier is only convinced after noticing Gonzalo's blonde hair, pale complexion, and more expensive clothing. Thus, Infante is forced to abandon his friend, using his class status as a free pass.
At the end of the movie, his family moves into a new, more opulent home. The audience is meant to understand, along with Infante, that this new wealth is connected to the brutal repression of the Chilean masses, who had hoped for real societal change by attempting to create a socialist society.
Awards
This film was nominated for the Ariel Award in 2005Ariel Award in 2005
The XLVII Award of the Premio Ariel of the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas took place on March 29 of 2005 at the Palacio de Bellas Artes...
in the category Best Iberoamerican Film. It won Most Popular International Film at the 2004 Vancouver International Film Festival
Vancouver International Film Festival
The Vancouver International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for two weeks in late September and early October...
.
Main cast
- Ariel Mateluna - Pedro Machuca
- Matías Quer - Gonzalo Infante
- Manuela Martelli - Silvana
- Ernesto Malbran - Father McEnroe
- Aline Küppenheim - María Luisa Infante
External links
- Machuca in Wood Producciones
- Machuca in the Philadelphia Film Festival
- "Chilean movie recalls U.S. priest's presence amid turbulence of coup" 22 November 2005, www.georgiabulletin.org