Clandestine Childhood
Clandestine Childhood
| 16 September 2012 (USA)
Clandestine Childhood Trailers

Juan lives in clandestinity. Just like his mum, his dad and his adored uncle Beto, outside his home he has another name. At school, Juan is known as Ernesto. And he meets María, who only has one name. Based on true events, set in the Argentina of 1979, this film is one about love.

Reviews
Cebalord

Very best movie i ever watch

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Protraph

Lack of good storyline.

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Kaelan Mccaffrey

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

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Matylda Swan

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

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tsimshotsui

Director Benjamín Ávila's acknowledgment and thanks at the end came as such a surprise because the film he just made showed the opposite of said intentions. The film, set in 1979 Argentina, is about a boy who's forced to use a different identity for his and his parents and Uncle's safety. These parents and his uncle are part of the resistance, whose one of the chants are "Perón or death", and really mean said words. The film is relentless, definitely in a bad way, and manages to be unnecessarily long, bogged down with story lines about first love and "girls are like chocolates" metaphors. A better movie would have committed to the child's POV, using cinematography to always see things from his point of view. But that was not the case here. The film tries to center other characters that in the end it doesn't quite serve any of them well enough. And back to my first sentence, instead of the film being a successful homage to the people of resistance back in that era, I found myself thinking they were really bad parents, too blind to the cause to make decisions that wouldn't endanger their children.

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Nibbler007

Infancia Clandestina is a very touching movie. This review is written by an Argentinian so I felt it as a very interesting film in terms of script and acting, but more interesting as a historical testimony of our "dark ages" in terms of dictatorship and guerrilla. It would be fair to write the review in Spanish in order to put my feelings properly, but IMDb is mostly an English language site so I want to give other people from foreign countries my point of view with the little English I speak.From my perspective, the movie is accurately told in terms of storyline. I would recommend it as a documentary, because Benjamín Avila relived his own experience on this movie, and because most of the facts really happened (with the names changed and that sort of thing). The fact that underlines the tragic story of Juan/Ernesto, is that he is, as a child, forced to live in a world of fear, constantly missing what we think a normal childhood should be. His parents are loving ones but put him in abnormal situations in terms of caring for their livings and raise their children in those violent conditions. In fact, the story of the 70's here was that fearful and violent. You are obliged to take a part in the story. That's what the film left me. It's a thought- provoking one. And asks a lot of questions more than it tells answers. Ernesto Alterio (very good in his role) as Tío Beto is the bond of Juan/Ernesto to a happy childhood; but even with knowing how his life could end from one moment to another, tried to remind Juan/Ernesto and the rest of the family, those little moments of humanity that could have been forgotten in the middle of tragedy. There is plenty of humanity, but that feeling is volatile and more close to self-indulgence than true happiness, knowing the curse of events.On the other hand, the guiding line of Juan/Ernesto's family is that he 'd become one of their "soldiers" when he'd grown up. Rootless, full of hate for losing one by one his loved ones, Juan/Ernesto becomes an adult from one day to another. But this review is not complete if I don't give you a personal opinion of the whole situation. Ideologies, partidisms, dogma, they all conceived death as a part of them. During the movie I often compared the situation with Islamic children (or whoever is forced to live in war since a child). They are children, and they are manipulated taking part on massacres, kidnaps, war and dismemberance of their families. They are brutally witnessing the grown-ups stupidity, the absurd sacrifice. Yes, it was absurd then and it's absurd now. And that's the thing with the title of this review. Even a kid could realize the barbarism, the destruction of life that is presented in the movie. Unfortunately there is little room for choice. I'm not in position to judge the events since I was born after the dictatorship. I'm a son of democracy (whatever that means) and those stories are told to me, but fortunately I didn't have to live those tragic times. But I feel sorry for those kids who had a sad childhood and couldn't choose for a better life. And I blame the dictatorship as well as the contraire ideologies that put them in those awful and despicable situations. Coming back to the movie, it's a must. Even if you're not Argentinian. It's beautiful and a bit surrealistic. And it makes you think that some things can never be repeated for our children's sake.Greetings from Argentina!

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corrosion-2

Clandestine Childhood is a coming of age story with a difference. As the title suggests, it is growing up under secrecy. The film is set in 70's Argentina where the military junta rules the country and opposition groups are clandestinely active. We follow a 12 year old son of one of these revolutionary couples who is growing up under a cloud of secrecy to protect the identity of his parents. The boy is a normal child who wants to invite his friends home, have a girlfriend and all that but can not do so due to the risk of exposing his parents who are wanted by the military dictatorship.The politics and the history, though ever present, are kept firmly in the background and the film focuses on the boy's story. The fact that the film is based partly on the director's own childhood, and specially knowing (as he told the audience after a screening) that his mother was one of the "disappeared" during that era, makes the film very poignant. An added bonus is the great music in the film.

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Matt Kocian

The movie is an emotional journey that takes its spectators to Argentina's military dictatorship of 1970's. Juan is a boy who struggles with his double identity he obtained for security purposes, as his parents are involved in combat against the regime. Ávila's script collaboration with Müller brings an amazing story that balances between fear of being discovered by military and love in the family, and consequently love of Juan and his classmate María. Altogether with the script, the movie has absolutely engaging music, art direction and cinematography. Ávila's way of filming brings attention to every single detail and delivers unified piece of cinematographic art. Actor Teo Gutiérrez Moreno is absolutely superb in his performance of the young boy and his life's struggle. Actress Natalia Oreiro delivers thrilling performance of revolutionary fighter and proves that she can portray a character that is as gentle as a mother to her son, as well as someone determined to fight the military regime. Moreover, actor Ernesto Alterio brings moments of humor into the story as his well-written character of uncle Beto. The story is based on true events and the love the director dedicated to this movie can be felt in every single second. This outstanding movie will touch not only those familiar with Argentine regime of 70's, yet it will find its way to hearts of many cinema lovers too.

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