Machuca
Menemsha Entertainment | Release Date: January 19, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
76
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleJonathan Curiel
A sensitively wrought work. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
An astonishingly intimate and painful coming-of-age story. Read full review
88
New York PostRussell Scott Smith
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. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
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 full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
Machuca is a quiet film, moving sadly toward its inevitable climax, the final scenes a lesson in the methods by which the military restores order to a divided country. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
Packs a quiet wallop. Read full review
80
VarietyDavid Rooney
Richly human in focus, the drama steadily cranks up its political and emotional charge. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Wood's film works, first and foremost, as a powerful character drama; it's not trying to teach historical or ideological lessons. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
One of those special films that broadens and deepens as it goes on. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Tender, funny and smart, Machuca is that rare discovery, an incisive political parable that also succeeds as a drama of sharply drawn individuals.
80
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Engaging entertainment and a great work of art. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerKaren Heller
Sweet, poignant, and winningly evocative of the period, though occasionally dogged by predictable scenarios and caricatures. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
It's a tale powerfully told, nevertheless, with an unusual vantage point in its upper-class young hero. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubKeith 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. Read full review
70
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Both sweet and stringent, attuned to the wonders of childhood as well as its cruelty and terror. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Wood's drama packs an emotional gut-punch that's all the more devastating for its being rooted in a dreadful historical reality. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
A respectable entry in the Bicycle Thief school of art-house cinema, which uses a child's coming of age to explore an era of political and social turmoil. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
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 full review
60
Village VoiceMichael 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. Read full review
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