Machuca 2004

Marta Barber, Miami Herald: Though the film would benefit from further cuts, Machuca still manages to convey the frailty of convictions and the difficulties of growing up -- be it a child or a nation. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: A fine, exciting film that makes a bloody historical event live all over again by showing it through the eyes of children on the edges of the conflict. Read more

Ted Fry, Seattle Times: Thanks to a pristine eye for period detail and strong acting skills by the entire cast, there's no need for the script to press any points. Read more

Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle: It's a sensitively wrought work that reveals a time in Chile when class differences were both ignored and emphasized, depending on your perspective. Read more

AV Club: Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: [The film has] an unerring eye for time and place that's counterbalanced by an overly passive, if sympathetic, central character. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: One of those special films that broadens and deepens as it goes on. Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: An astonishingly intimate and painful coming-of-age story. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Both sweet and stringent, attuned to the wonders of childhood as well as its cruelty and terror. Read more

Time Out: Read more

David Rooney, Variety: Richly human in focus, the drama steadily cranks up its political and emotional charge, poignantly viewing its themes through the eyes of two 11-year-old boys. Read more

Michael Atkinson, Village Voice: Wood is fastidious about period set design, but not much else; rather than burning with experience, the film feels opportunistic. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: That rare film that merges the personal and political without sacrificing restraint or intellectual honesty. Read more