Kindergarten (1989 film): Difference between revisions

Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Directed by	Jorge Polaco
Written by	Daniel González Valdueña; Jorge Polaco
Based on	Kindergarten by Asher Benatar
Produced by	Víctor Bó; Salvador D'Antonio; Carlos Mentasti
Starring	Graciela Borges; Arturo Puig; Luisa Vehil
Cinematography	Esteban Courtalon
Edited by	Oscar Gómez
Music by	Héctor Magni
Production; company	Argentina Sono Film S.A.C.I.
Distributed by	Argentina Sono Film S.A.C.I.
Release date	1989;
Running time	90 minutes
Country	Argentina
Language	Spanish

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Kindergarten is a 1989 Argentine drama film co-written and directed by Jorge Polaco, based on Asher Benatar's novel of the same name. It stars Graciela Borges, Arturo Puig and Luisa Vehil. It was banned from theaters one day short of its release,^[1] and remained unreleased in Argentina until 2010, when a restored copy premiered in Mar del Plata Film Festival.^[2]

Plot summary

The movie focuses on the marriage of Graciela and Arturo, who operate a kindergarten in their mansion. They live with Graciela's widowed mother, Luisa. Graciela is particularly keen on one boy, Luciano, on whom she makes sexual advances. As time progresses, the relationship between Graciela and Arturo tenses. Scenes show them celebrating kids' birthdays while having sex in hiding, practicing a ritualistic burning of a wrecked car, mistreating their comatose grandfather (victim of said car wreck) and generally torturing Luciano. The end has Luciano imprisoning and gassing Graciela and Arturo, and then escaping with Luisa on a horse-drawn carriage.

Cast

Graciela Borges ... Graciela
Arturo Puig ... Arturo
Luisa Vehil ... Grandmother
Elvira Romei ... Elvira
Luciano Sanguineri ... Luciano
Cecilia Etchegaray ... Silvia
Alejandro Urdapilleta ... Popcorn Seller
Eithel Bianco
Margot Moreyra
Eleonora Berlante
Micaela Brandoni
Néstor Tirri

Controversy and release

The film sparked controversy due to its perceived mistreatment of child actors (the protagonist, an eleven-year-old, spends most of his screen-time naked), as well as a number of censored scenes: an adult woman and a child take a bath together, the same woman later on makes suggestive advances on the child, plus the inclusion of an apparently unrelated, explicit and unsimulated oral sex scene performed by Cecilia Etchegaray to Arturo Puig.

The movie was banned from theaters one day short of release and a prolonged trial ensued over eight years, emotionally devastating Polaco and his fellow workmen. It has gained notoriety as being the first—and only—film censored by a democratic government since the end of Argentina's last military dictatorship in 1983.

Polaco lobbied for many years for a release of Kindergarten in public theaters. Finally, a restored copy of the film was released on the 2010 Mar del Plata Film Festival for the first time since its shooting over 20 years before.

References

^ Censorship: A World Encyclopedia (edited by Derek Jones) Google Books
^ Forbidden film "Kindergarten" is released after 21 years 11-18-2010, Clarín (in Spanish)

External links

Kindergarten at IMDb

This article related to an Argentine film of the 1980s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Censorship: A World Encyclopedia (edited by Derek Jones) Google Books

[2] Forbidden film "Kindergarten" is released after 21 years 11-18-2010, Clarín (in Spanish)

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{unreferenced|date=April 2010}}
+{{more citations needed|date=June 2014}}
 {{Infobox film
 | name           = Kindergarten
+| image          =
+| caption        =
 | director       = [[Jorge Polaco]]
-| producer       = [[Victor Bo]]<br>[[Salvador D'Antonio]]<br>[[Carlos Mentasti]]
+| producer       = [[Víctor Bó]]<br>[[Salvador D'Antonio]]<br>[[Carlos Mentasti]]
-| writer         = '''Screenplay:'''<br>[[Daniel González Valdueña]]<br>Jorge Polaco<br>'''Book:'''<br>Asher Benatar
+| writer         = [[Daniel González Valdueña]]<br>Jorge Polaco
+| based_on       = ''[[Kindergarten (book)|Kindergarten]]'' by [[Asher Benatar]]
 | starring       = [[Graciela Borges]]<br>[[Arturo Puig]]<br>[[Luisa Vehil]]
 | cinematography = [[Esteban Courtalon]]
-| editing        = [[Oscar Gómez]]
+| editing        = [[Oscar Gómez (editor)|Oscar Gómez]]
-| released       = Unreleased
+| music          = Héctor Magni
+| studio         = [[Argentina Sono Film S.A.C.I.]]
+| distributor    = Argentina Sono Film S.A.C.I.
+| released       = {{Film date|1989}}
 | runtime        = 90 minutes
 | country        = Argentina
 | language       = Spanish
+| budget         =
 }}
-'''Kindergarten''' is a 1989 [[Argentine]] movie directed by [[Jorge Polaco]], based on [[Asher Benatar]]'s [[Kindergarten (book)|novel]]. It stars [[Graciela Borges]], [[Arturo Puig]] and [[Luisa Vehil]]. It was banned from theaters one day short of its release and has remained unreleased in Argentina for over 20 years.
+'''''Kindergarten''''' is a 1989 [[Cinema of Argentina|Argentine]] [[drama film]] co-written and directed by [[Jorge Polaco]], based on Asher Benatar's novel of the same name. It stars [[Graciela Borges]], [[Arturo Puig]] and [[Luisa Vehil]]. It was [[List of banned films|banned from theaters]] one day short of its release,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=gDqsCQAAQBAJ&dq=kindergarten+1989+censored+film&pg=PA1881 Censorship: A World Encyclopedia (edited by Derek Jones)] [[Google Books]]</ref> and remained unreleased in Argentina until 2010, when a restored copy premiered in [[Mar del Plata Film Festival]].<ref>[http://www.clarin.com/espectaculos/cine/Kindergarten_0_374362762.html Forbidden film "Kindergarten" is released after 21 years] 11-18-2010, ''[[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|Clarín]]'' {{in lang|es}}</ref>
-== Plot ==
+== Plot summary ==
-The movie focuses on the marriage of Graciela and Arturo, who operate a [[kindergarten]] in their mansion. They live with Graciela's widowed mother, Luisa. Graciela is particularly keen on one boy, Luciano, on whom she makes sexual advances.
+The movie focuses on the marriage of Graciela and Arturo, who operate a [[kindergarten]] in their mansion. They live with Graciela's widowed mother, Luisa. Graciela is particularly keen on one boy, Luciano, on whom she makes sexual advances. As time progresses, the relationship between Graciela and Arturo tenses. Scenes show them celebrating kids' birthdays while having sex in hiding, practicing a ritualistic burning of a wrecked car, mistreating their comatose grandfather (victim of said car wreck) and generally torturing Luciano. The end has Luciano imprisoning and gassing Graciela and Arturo, and then escaping with Luisa on a horse-drawn carriage.
+== Cast ==
-As the movie progresses, the relationship between Graciela and Arturo tenses. Scenes show them celebrating kids' birthdays while having sex in hiding, practicing a ritualistic burning of a wrecked car, mistreating their comatose grandfather (victim of said car wreck) and generally torturing Luciano.
+{{Cast listing|
+* [[Graciela Borges]] ... Graciela
+* [[Arturo Puig]] ... Arturo
+* [[Luisa Vehil]] ... Grandmother
+* [[Elvira Romei]] ... Elvira
+* [[Luciano Sanguineri]] ... Luciano
+* [[Cecilia Etchegaray]] ... Silvia
+* [[Alejandro Urdapilleta]] ... Popcorn Seller
+* [[Eithel Bianco]]
+* Margot Moreyra
+* Eleonora Berlante
+* Micaela Brandoni
+* Néstor Tirri
+}}
+== Controversy and release ==
-The end has Luciano imprisoning and gassing Graciela and Arturo, and then escaping with Luisa on a horse-drawn carriage.
+The film sparked controversy due to its perceived mistreatment of child actors (the protagonist, an eleven-year-old, spends most of his screen-time naked), as well as a number of censored scenes: an adult woman and a child take a bath together, the same woman later on makes suggestive advances on the child, plus the inclusion of an apparently unrelated, [[Unsimulated sex|explicit and unsimulated]] [[oral sex]] scene performed by [[Cecilia Etchegaray]] to [[Arturo Puig]].
+The movie was banned from theaters one day short of release and a prolonged trial ensued over eight years, emotionally devastating Polaco and his fellow workmen. It has gained notoriety as being the first—and only—film censored by a democratic government since the end of [[National Reorganization Process|Argentina's last military dictatorship]] in 1983.
-== Controversy ==
-The film sparked controversy due to its perceived mistreat of child actors (the protagonist, an eleven year-old, spends most of his screen-time naked), as well as a number of censored scenes: an adult woman and a child take a bath together, the same woman later on makes suggestive advances on the child, plus the inclusion of an unrelated, explicit [[oral sex]] scene. The movie was banned from theaters one day short of release and a prolonged trial ensued over eight years, emotionally devastating Polaco and his fellow workmen. It has gained notoriety as being the first film to be censored by the government following the end of the [[Dirty War]] in 1983.
-Polaco lobbied for many years for the release of ''Kindergarten'' in public theaters. A restored copy of ''Kindergarten'' was eventually released on the 2010 [[Mar del Plata Film Festival]]  for the first time since its shooting over 20 years before.<ref>[http://www.clarin.com/espectaculos/cine/Kindergarten_0_374362762.html Después de 21 años, estrenaron la película prohibida “Kindergarten”]</ref>
+Polaco lobbied for many years for a release of ''Kindergarten'' in public theaters. Finally, a restored copy of the film was released on the 2010 [[Mar del Plata Film Festival]] for the first time since its shooting over 20 years before.
+== References ==
+{{Reflist}}
 == External links ==
-*{{IMDb title|id=0304292|title=Kindergarten}}
+* {{IMDb title|id=0304292|title=Kindergarten}}
 [[Category:1989 films]]
+[[Category:Argentine drama films]]
+[[Category:Films about incest]]
+[[Category:Obscenity controversies in film]]
+[[Category:1980s Argentine films]]
-{{1980s-Argentina-film-stub}}
+{{1980s-Argentina-film-stub}}
-{{reflist}}