The Year My Parents Went on Vacation

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation

‘The Year My Parents Went on Vacation’ is the story of the little Mario, who has to leave his parents at a very young age and cherishes all his hopes for the football during their absence. The film takes the unsteady Brazil of 1970s as background to recount a big world from a child’s eyes.

Directed by Cao Hamburger, ‘The Year My Parents Went on Vacation’ (O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias) tells a warm story taking Brazil, which is smashed by the military junta of the 1970s, and the 1970 FIFA World Cup Mexico 70 as the background.
Bia and Daniel, who have been wanted by the police as political criminals decide to go for an exile. Telling their little son Mauro that they are going on vacation, they take him to his grandfather in São Paolo. However, the grandfather is a religious Jew, who does not talk to his son, so they leave Mauro in front of the apartment flat of his grandfather. While his family goes away with their blue Volkswagen Beetle, there is a surprise for Mauro – his grandfather, whom he has not seen since ages, has died just a few minutes ago.

Leaning on the Football
Mauro starts to live alone in his grandfather’s flat in a Jewish quarter, looking forward the day his parents will come back. His father had promised Mauro that they would return until the first match of Brazil in the World Cup. Mauro leans on football, his biggest passion in the world, during his parents’ absence.
His first friend in this new life, the rules of which remains puzzling for him, is an old Jewish man, called Shlomo, the next door of his late grandfather. For Mauro, Shlomo is quite boring because of his over-principled life-style; whereas, for Schlomo, Mauro is too resourceful and independent. However, soon a grandchild and grandfather relationship is about to spring between them.
Meanwhile, Hana appears. This smart young lady will come along with new hopes in his little world. His acquaintance with Irene, the popular girl of the street, is actually the first sexual experience of our little hero. Edgar, the black boyfriend of Irene, is a successful goalkeeper and soon he becomes a hero for Mauro. Ítalo, a militant college boy, is no different from a lost father’s shadow...
The biggest passion of Mauro in life is the love of football, inspired from his father. Football for Mauro, in this stage of his life, is of special importance both as a shelter against the distress he is in, and as symbolic of his parents’ arrival. As World Cup Mexico 70 draws near, Mauro’s excitement accordingly increases everyday.

A Sad Story
‘The Year My Parents Went on Vacation’ tells a turbulent period from the point of view of an innocent child. Although this is a theme very much explored by many films before, the aesthetic and narrative structure of the movie are praiseworthy. The film succeeds in giving us the littlest details about the relationships, tensions between little children and adults, adults and the old, women and men, Jews and Christians without offending the eye of the audience. What is more, it presents a spectacular visual quality and cinematography.
Even though the main tension of the film is Mauro’s reunion with his parents, this tension becomes partially less important in the middle of the film. The sub-tales and characters, the football conversations in particular, manage to enrich the film without rambling it.
‘The Year My Parents Went on Vacation’, which has comedy and drama in patches, but is never trapped in clichés and melodrama; has traces of autobiography. Just like in the film, the director Cao Hamburger’s parents, academics in São Paulo College, were arrested by the soldiers in 1970. In this period, little Cao and his four siblings had to stay with their grandmothers, one of them was Jewish, and the other a Catholic Italian. The most important reason why the film is so real and earnest is maybe the proximity of it to the story of the director...
In June, we are going to take a lively interest in football once again thanks to the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship. If you want to diminish the absence of Brazil in 2008 UEFA European Football Championship or if you are still determined to spend your time on football, you should see ‘The Year My Parents Went on Vacation’. But let me put it straight, you do not need any excuses to see a good film.

Burçin Tuncer

FIFA World Cup 2006 Germany

World Cup starts just now!

Tensions rise as the finals come closer in the Germany 2006 in which 56 competitions have been completed so far. There are no surprising teams among the last 8 except for the Ukraine and football fans are not struck by the elimination of Australia, Ghana and Mexico. Furthermore, it can be said that the cup really starts now for the fans of the surviving 8 teams.


Having left behind the first two phases of matches, FIFA World Cup 2006 Germany goes into full throttle with its exciting matches, critical cards, controversial penalties and, above all, with its unique fever. As the teams aiming to reach the quarter-finals in the tournament, launched with the participation of 32 countries, obtained a chance to relax and revise their tactics once more with the two-day break; fans are concentrating on the statistics and the unforgettable moments of the tournament that are now to be lifelong memories.

The “Scarlet” Tournament
Actually, every World Cup event opens up for new consumption fields rather than new records and the pleasure of football. This situation also applies to Germany 2006. The idea, which was developed by Germans in this tournament for the first time, is that each team plays a match in a different city causing fans to transport themselves from one city to another. It seems Germany 2006 will beat a record as the most expensive tournament due to train tickets, hotel fees, and souvenir costs paid by fans.
Besides this fact, Germany 2006 will be remembered for its record in yellow and red cards that have been raised in the matches and not for its competitions achieving many goals. Carrying the title of being the most scarlet tournament up to now with 22 red cards, France ’98 has transferred this title to Germany 2006 that has been stage to 25 red cards up to now. Comparing the Korea-Japan 2002 yellow card record of 272 with that of Germany 2006 it was beaten with 309 yellow cards. This number is sure to increase as the last 8 matches may be more contentious than ever.
The intriguing matter is not the number of the cards, however; but the fact that this card glut started just after FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s warning. Behaving rather mean about the cards and penalties, the referees suddenly started to raise cards and give penalties.
While Asian and African referees seem to cheer up, some suspicions were raised as the decisions taken served for only the “big” teams’ appetite. Recalling the previous World Cup, in which the teams not having a strong football école, such as Turkey and Korea had played in the finals surprisingly, it is a matter of question whether this was not a suitable bargain for the promotion policies of FIFA.

Argentine – Brazil; possible?
Returning to our main point, Germany 2006 did not fully please the football fans. Except for Australia, Ghana and Mexico, none of the teams disappointed the fans with their game while Ukraine, surviving to the quarterfinals, was a surprise among the other 7. So we can say it’s “All Quiet on the German Front” for now. If there happens to be a Germany–Brazil final match, as the organising team has been wishing for, everything will have gone just as it had been anticipated.
However, Argentine may give the fans a last minute excitement by surprisingly winning over the host team Germany and beat its possible rival Italy in the next match, and thus may create a long-desired fever in the finals. Whereas, Brazil, although having decreased its rhythm comparing to the beginning of the tournament, seem to have only England as a difficult rival on its way to the final. Yet, England, successful in not ever conceding any goals but unsuccessful in scoring any, seem to have a lesser chance against Brazil.
Beyond all these “forecasts” however, we are actually on the shore of all possibilities. For instance, Italians, having conceded “catenaccio”, may be obstructed by Ukraine; or France may crush Brazil’s hopes, like they did in the finals of France ’98; or Portugal may pierce the English defence thanks to their creativity.
If the official ball of Germany 2006 the “Teamgeist” is a round-ball, despite all the technology behind it, we can say everything is possible in any minute in football; and that is why we like it.