The film’s protagonist is Mauro; the child of left wing activists who, like 10,000 other Brazilians from the years 1964-1985,1 went into exile to escape the persecution of the government. In an attempt to protect their son, Mauro’s parents abandon him in the city of São Paulo with a vague promise to return for the World Cup. At first the movie’s mood is depressing, as an isolated Mauro waits by windows and the phone for a sign of his parents: a blatant testimony to the pain inflicted upon families during this era. Moreover, the film periodically displays scenes of violent student arrests and interrogations which were common occurrences at the time. Torture of arrested political dissidents, which involved both mental (sleep deprivation, constant