- Two 12-year-old Chilean children from different social classes become friends in 1973. They both discover each other's world as political tensions in their country increase.
- Santiago, capital of Chile during the Marxist government of elected, highly controversial president Salvador Allende. Father McEnroe supports his leftist views by introducing a program at the prestigious "collegio" (Catholic prep school) St. Patrick to allow free admission of some proletarian kids. One of them is Pedro Machuca, slum-raised son of the cleaning lady in Gonzalo Infante's liberal-bourgeois home. Yet the new classmates become buddies, paradoxically protesting together as Gonzalo gets adopted by Pedro's slum family and gang. But the adults spoil that too, not in the least when general Pinochet's coup ousts Allende, and supporters such as McEnroe.—KGF Vissers
- Political unrest helps spawn and destroy a friendship between two schoolboys in this drama. In Chile in 1973, as the leadership of socialist president Salvador Allende was coming under fire from the nation's military leaders and the leaders of several powerful Western nations (including the United States), many in the country were inspired to address the issues of the vast gulf between Chile's rich and poor. Father McEnroe (Ernesto Malbran), one of the headmasters of an exclusive private school, decides to confront this matter by giving a handful of poor children a full scholarship. Pedro Machuca (Ariel Mateluna) is one of the new students, and while he and his fellows are picked on by the school's bullies, Pedro is a brave kid who stands his ground, and he's soon befriended by Gonzalo Infante (Matías Quer), whose rich parents live in Santiago's wealthy suburbs. Gonzalo's family is standing on shaky ground these days; his mother (Aline Küppenheim) is having an affair, and his father (Francisco Reyes) finds himself at odds with her increasingly right-wing political views. Gonzalo begins spending more time with Pedro and his family; he particularly likes Uncle Willi (Alejandro Trejo), who cheerfully sells flags to Chileans on both sides of the political fence, and develops a crush on Silvana (Manuela Martelli), Pedro's older cousin. But the political and economic differences that are dividing the country find their way into the school, leading to a rift between the two friends.the movie portrays the conflicts that took place in the bloody event in the eyes of pre-teens pupils in the same era.—Anonymous
- In 1973, in Santiago of Chile of the first socialist president democratically elected in a Latin-American country, President Salvador Allende, the principal of the Saint Patrick School, Father McEnroe makes a trial of integration between students of the upper and lower classes. The bourgeois boy Gonzalo Infante and the boy from the slum Pedro Machuca become great friends, while the conflicts on the streets leads Chile to the bloody and repressive military coup of General Augusto Pinochet on 11 September 1973, changing definitely their lives, their relationship and their country.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
It looks like we don't have any synopsis for this title yet. Be the first to contribute.
Learn moreContribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content