Machuca

New York Post by

You don't have to know Chile's bloody history to be moved by the poignant new film Machuca, the first movie made by a Chilean about the country's 1973 military coup.

Salon by Andrew O'Hehir

Wood's film works, first and foremost, as a powerful character drama; it's not trying to teach historical or ideological lessons.

The New York Times by Dana Stevens

Both sweet and stringent, attuned to the wonders of childhood as well as its cruelty and terror.

Variety by David Rooney

Richly human in focus, the drama steadily cranks up its political and emotional charge.

New York Daily News by Jack Mathews

An astonishingly intimate and painful coming-of-age story.

The A.V. Club by Keith Phipps

Though Machuca ultimately doesn't shy away from taking sides, it wisely keeps the focus on the human element. The politics take place in the background until they demand the foreground.

TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox

Wood's drama packs an emotional gut-punch that's all the more devastating for its being rooted in a dreadful historical reality.

Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan

One of those special films that broadens and deepens as it goes on.

Village Voice by Michael Atkinson

Machuca is still a half-measure. Wood is fastidious about period set design, but not much else; rather than burning with experience, the film feels opportunistic.

The Hollywood Reporter by Michael Rechtshaffen

Packs a quiet wallop.