Maria Suarez "Kamchatka": More Than Just a War Game By: Maria Fernanda SuarezIn the Film Appreciation elective at my school we decided to watch the movie "Kamchatka" in the World Cinema Unit. Considering we are Latin Americans we decided to choose a movie from the region, although most of these movies are not easily available for rent or purchase. "Kamchatka" was a good choice because it reflects very efficiently the realities of the life for Latin Americans during a crisis. Although not everyone can relate to living in times of war, the movie focuses more on the family aspect of the situation, allowing most people to be able to connect to at least one of the characters.The movie "Kamchatka" is a narration about the way a young boy, Harry (Matías Del Pozo), interprets the historical events going on in his country. The storyline takes place in Argentina during the dictatorship of José Videla, featuring the coup d'etat in 1976 when he consolidated his power. His reign was right- winged and it was one of terror; anyone opposing the government's ideas was either killed or "disappeared." One afternoon Harry's mom picks him and his younger brother, El Enano (Milton De La Canal), early from school. The family must leave town for some time and retire to a house in the country. The movie follows the hardships of these troubled times from the eyes of a young boy who does not fully understand what is going on. Harry and his brother try to make the best of the situation, but their boyish curiosity creeps up often and their parents struggle to explain things in an understandable matter. Despite the parent's ability to keep the kids out of the conflict, in the scene with the grandparents it becomes evident how the political events are present in everyone's life, even in that of the youngest.The actors in general did a great job of portraying a family living in times of hardships by not over exaggerating events and dealing in common day-to-day situations and settings. For example, in the restaurant scene, the main family is shown dealing in an environment with other families. It highlights their troubles but does not making them overly evident as to seem fake. The kids' mom (Cecilia Roth) did a specially good role in the movie. Her smoking is the only way she can let out the frustration she feels as a concerned parent, considering that she has to keep a strong outer attitude to help her kids get through. The children's naiveness towards what is going on and their expected childish dilemmas also show very good acting from their part.What I enjoyed most about the movie "Kamchatka" is that it allows the viewers to put together the puzzle pieces of the story. We are never told why the family must leave, probably because this detail was not of much importance in the eyes of the narrator; Harry. This space for speculation engages the audience more and permits them to accommodate the movie in a manner that they can find useful. The physical settings of the story, specially the grandparent's house with the beautiful lake, show picturesque scenes that are memorable. The aspect that I liked the least in the movie was the lack of an emotionally impacting moment or action. I felt that the movie is missing a touching scene that binds an audience to a movie. Small details such as the mother's joy when Harry comes back from his escape do illustrate sentimental moments, but none stands out."Kamchatka" reinforces the value of family and love by showing the fragility and non- importance of material processions. The movie is an eye- opener to realities many people would not be exposed to in their usually conditions. In turn, it warns its audience about the severity of wars. The fact that Harry and his father play the war board game TEG emphasizes the foreshadowing of the evils of war. The only time Harry comes close to winning, his father holds on to one country: Kamchatka. This action of the father's to hold on to something till the very end, both in the game and in their real life, brings to light the values of dedication and perseverance.Younger kids would probably not understand the prevalent and underlying conflict, yet they would be able to follow the simple tram of the kid's actions and enjoy the movie. It is very adequate for teenagers looking to experience a different culture and learn about a historic event in a more personal way. The magic about the movie is that anyone can connect to some aspect of it; either the situation, a character, or the time period. Rating: 4/5*Maria Fernanda is a sophomore in a Costa Rican high school. Her favorite subject is History, being it the reason attributed to her passion for reading and watching movies. She feels both books and movies tell incredibly valuable stories that give the audience insight into events they would never know about. She believes that the power of these communication tools is so strong they can definitely change the world for better or for worse.

fabienmoydelacroix "Kamchatka" The movie "Kamchatka" is an Argentinean movie that was made in 2002, but based in 1975. Kamchatka talks about a kid who's name is Harry Vincent (Matias De Pozo) and he and his family have to move away from Buenos Aires to the outer part of Argentina. This causes the family to change and become more united. They face many issues living outside the city. Harry has an obsession with Houdini, the escapist and that relates to him and his family escaping form the government, because in that time it was the Argentinian revolution and form what the movie shows his father was part of the movement that was against Videla the dictator. Harry (Matias del Pozo) is the main character is a young boy that loves the escapists, his brother Simon (Milton De la Canal) is a younger kid, that practically has no idea of what is going. His father David Vincent (Ricardo Darín) is part of the revolution and the military is looking for him, he was a lawyer. His mother Cecilia Roth was a scientist, a job that in those times was not very common for a woman, this shows that they where a modern family and not a typical one. The movie takes place in Buenos Aires and in the Argentinian fields, in a house where they live and in their grandparents house. Hey go through ups and downs and manage to stay away form the government, the two brothers experience something new, and it is to live in a house int he woods because they are accustomed to live in a big city like Buenos Aires, also Harry has to become more mature and take care of the house and his fathers when their parents go to the city. The mayor plot twist is when they get to the house where they are hiding and find all of their things torn down, the military had gotten to their house and was looking for them and that causes a lot of tension in the movie.the actor/actress that did the best job in the movie was the mother (Cecilia Roth), she plays this character that is a representation of the world changing because she is a scientist and also the way that she shows her emotions and her faces attach very well to the movie and the situation they are going through. Also Matias del Pozo did a very good job, because he is just a kid and his acting was very hard and he did it very well because his character was the main one and some scenes where excellent, most of the movie had excellent acting in behalf of all the actors, very professional work and acting took place in this movie.The best part of the movie of the movie was when they had to run away from their hiding place because it shows a lot of tension. And it is the best representation of how the people lived when they where chased by the government. Also they pass through very harsh times because they have to sleep in the park and they are not sure of what sort of mess is waiting for them at home.This movie leaves a very important lesson, and that is family union, they united as a family and left nobody behind them, but also they had issues with the grandparents and that limited the father to express himself, when it comes to times like those ones, the only thing you got is your family support and that is the most important thing in life. They survived because they helped each other overcome through their situation. The movie is recommended to adults who ha e a background information on the Argentinian revolution, because then they would have a better understanding of the film and get to appreciate more each scene. Kinds can also watch it, but it would be hard for them to understand what is going on. Also this movie helps that history would not repeat, because many people went disappeared in those times and still now days there are still people who think like Videla. Fabien Moy De Lacroix is a student form Costa Rica. He goes to Lincoln School and he is 15 years old, he has been part of the Film Appreciation class for more than 2 months.

firestormdaxus This film is delightful and one which will leave you enchanted. I cannot understand some of the comments that say the reason why the family is on the run is never explained - it is! The father is described as a lawyer whose speciality is working with people who have been accused of political crimes. When his partner is arrested and goes missing- he knows that time is running short for him under the new military regime after the coup and decides to take his family underground to escape the same fate. Outstanding performances all round - Darin and Roth are electric - and it is so nice to see a film that portrays a strong husband/wife bond rather than a dysfunctional one. The child actors are impressive without displaying that smug awareness ("look at me, aren't I clever") that spoils many a performance by an American child. Touching and poignant, a must see that just emphasises the strength now coming through from Argentinian cinema.

agent_starling_1999 Like "Harry", I always enjoyed playing TEG. If you have never played it, don´t worry, for it´s actually pretty simple: one board with fifty countries, and three or four players trying to control 30 of them to win the game. But Harry has never played with so many people - he just plays with his dad. And when its only two players, it is a fight to the death: all 50 countries or nothing. Harry has never won before, and he is very close to winning - but his dad, controlling this little, obscure region on the edge of the board, this remote place with a tongue twister of a name, Kamchatka, still manages to resist for hours and hours. As Harry will learn later, surviving against all odds is indeed possible... and as he warns us as the movie begins, this will be the last and most memorable lesson he has learned from his father.A touching tale made up of childhood memories, Kamchatka tells the story of a middle-class couple in Argentina in the mid-70s, during the military dictatorship that horrified and scarred the country. One day, without warning, the couple take their two children to an abandoned house, desperately trying to escape. But of course, the children understand nothing of this - instead they are forced to leave their lives behind and even change their names. The movie cleverly focuses on the older of the two boys, Harry (who actually names himself after Harry Houdini), and suggests the horrors of the period through subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) metaphors, sometimes with a sense of humor you wouldn´t expect for this type of pictures.The good thing about "Kamchatka" is that it is not a history lesson - you never know exactly what the parents (and the other people that come and go into the children´s lives) did to be hiding, but it doesn´t really matter. What matter is that the film accurately portrays the heartbreaking situation of a man and a woman who do not know if they´ll live to see their children grow, and are still strong enough to fight back and try to smile for them. We don´t know what they did when they left the house every day. We don´t know what happened to their friends and co-workers. We don´t even learn their real names - like so many of the "desaparecidos", they are the anonymous victims of a goverment that almost destroyed a country. We only see the couple through the innocent - but oddly wise - eyes of their children.Ricardo Darin and Cecilia Roth have once again proved with this movie that they are some of the best actors in Argentina right now - I´ve seen them both in more demanding roles, mind, and this is far from being their best performances... and yet they are both believable and their chemistry with the children is perfect. Director Ricardo Piñeyro knows what he is doing, and it shows: with this type of material it is dangerously easy to fall into the trap of making a cheap melodrama, and yet he manages (for the most part) to avoid making the picture overly sentimental or manipulative. Kamchatka may not be a perfect film, but it´s heart-felt and beautifully filmed.For viewers who wish to know more about this dark time in Argentina´s history, you may rent the excellent Oscar-winning "The Official Story".