The expressions, reactions, and feelings exuded by Gonzalo Infante in Machuca are a parallel to the feelings of the people of the bourgeoisie in Chile. They were sheltered from much of the coup in their own country, and were blind to what was occurring in their own backyard. If Gonzalo did not become friends with Machuca, he may have never understood what he does now about the coup. The contrast between the expressions on his face while riding his bike in the beginning and the end of the movie, is quite striking. At first, we see him full of happiness that he has made friends with Machuca, but at the end he is totally torn apart by what he had witnessed in their neighborhood – the killing of many people, including Silvana. It is certainly important to pay attention to Gonzalo throughout this movie. If you do not, you will be missing an important aspect of the storyline.
Review of Machuca
