Machuca Movie Review:


It's taken the incarceration of the former president for Chile to finally make its own movie about the US-sponsored 1973 coup that plunged the country in to 30 years of horrific injustice. And Wood is clearly the right guy for the job, telling his eloquent story from a child's non-judgemental point of view.

Gonzalo (Quer) is an 11-year-old at a posh Catholic school in Santiago, where the American priest (Malbran) is determined to counteract centuries of European prejudice by allowing indigenous boys from a nearby shantytown to attend for free. Gonzalo befriends one of them, Pedro Machuca (Mateluna), and together they embark on several pre-adolescent adventures, including kissing their first girl (Martelli). Meanwhile, the country's political situation is coming to a boil.

This is incendiary subject matter, and Wood inventively tells the story from the boys' neutral perspective--they're literally from opposite sides of the tracks, with no idea what that means. But as the film progresses they begin to understand the awful truth of the world they live in. The result is one of the most startlingly effective political films in memory--gripping, entertaining, devastating. Wood takes us right to the edge between hope and hopelessness, then pushes us over it with the sound of a single gunshot.

The film is impeccably shot, with a beautifully dusty 1970s style that captures much more than the surface textures of the period. The social-political situation builds up gradually in clear focus, with artful touches that bring it powerfully to life and add a strong emotional resonance. This is done subtly, such as when the "No to civil war!" graffiti eerily transforms when the word "No" is blacked out. And Wood adeptly highlights the differences between the boys through simple things like their swimwear. While Gonzalo's Lone Ranger obsession is echoed in his rich-boy bicycle--his Silver, as it were.

From the actors to script to production, there's not a false note anywhere. This is complex, compelling, engaging and extremely artful filmmaking. It's also so timely that it's terrifying. As one character cries out: "When will we dare to do things differently?"



Rich Cline

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