User Reviews

(Spoilers below, although the plot is kind of predictable.)

Four rich kids and their problems over a summer in Santiago. Their problems turn out to be pretty much the same as rich kids' problems anywhere, but with a few interesting twists--especially the girl who ends up ashamed, rather than proud, of her parents' political persecution under the old regime. I thought the treatment of the nanny who loves her charge inappropriately was more than a little unfair--although there is one line expressing some sympathy for her, she is dispatched with seemingly no concern about how she is going to eat or support her baby, and no one seeming to think that the boy (a privileged male in an ultra-machismo culture, after all) should take any responsibility for his treatment of her. So ultimately the film sets up some very interesting political, sexual, and especially class tensions but then fails to confront them--in the end, these 4 rich kids slide along on their privilege, and we are supposed to approve this display of the power of friendship. Still, it is always interesting to see places and people you don't usually see on the screen (and as another comment mentions, you really do get a sense of Santiago and its outskirts).

(Potential Spoilers)

This is kind of a disappointing film, especially considering it's one of the few films to come out Chile in recent years. Although it has potential, it suffers several major flaws. First, the lead who, as you might imagine is the director's son, is a terrible actor who, if you're unfortunate enough to be bilingual, will annoy you in two languages. Second, there is a ridiculous sexual abuse subplot involving Chilean sex symbol Tamara Costa woefully miscast as a predatory maid. Ms. Costa would not have to "sexually abuse" anyone, and no teenager in the world would be too traumatized if she did. Third, the film tries to treat the 1973 Chilean coup by having a scene where one of the characters reveals that she lost several members of her family in it. This scene is kind of shoe-horned in,and becomes kind of trite when mixed with the general bathos of the film (not to mention that the character in question would have been born at least ten years after the coup and would scarcely remember the subsequent Pinochet dictatorship let alone the events of 1973). Chile has the relative wealth someday join Spain, Argentina, and Mexico as the major exporters of Hispanic cinema, but not with disappointing efforts like this