Machuca

Gonzolo and Pedro became friends like children do. They stuck up for one another, both were underdogs, Gonzolo was bullied by other kids in his class, and Pedro was the new kid in the class. The lives of the children were different, but both of them had family issues. Pedro's father was an alcoholic and not supportive. Gonzalo's father was supportive but his mother was having an affair with a rich man and had Pedro lie to his father about where he obtained things like shoes and books.

The classes were very apparent in this movie. Pedro lived in a shanty town with limited means. He had holes in his clothes and not very much food on the table. But he had a mother who loved him. Gonzolo had food on the table, a closet full of clothes, even Adidas shoes and a mother who slept with an old man to give him a lot more than that.
The messages were amazing to me. In 1973, I was a 15 year old in Cleveland. I had no idea that this went on in Chile. We as citizens were totally oblivious to this. The idea that people were beaten and killed because of their political belief put me beside myself. If the CIA backed this up, it is incomprehensible.
The class system is a curse and a blessing. We have so much in this country, that we take for granted how unfortunate others are. The human element of this film was very touching. That children, or people for that matter that meet are able to connect and form a friendship, it does not matter if they are poor, rich, in power or not.