Machuca is a 2004 Chilean 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, 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, the private English-language school in Santiago that the film's director attended as a boy.
"Machuca" performed well in theaters in Chile, but failed to impress audiences elsewhere, particularly outside of Latin America.
Synopsis
A scene from Machuca.
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 poor, young girlfriend 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 expensive sneakers. 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 2005 in the category Best Iberoamerican Film. It won Most Popular International Film at the 2004 Vancouver International Film Festival. [1]
Main cast
- Ariel Mateluna - Pedro Machuca
- Matías Quer - Gonzalo Infante
- Manuela Martelli - Silvana
- Ernesto Malbran - Father McEnroe
- Aline Küppenheim - María Luisa Infante
External links
