Kindergarten (film)
| Kindergarten | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Jorge Polaco |
| Produced by |
Víctor Bó Salvador D'Antonio Carlos Mentasti |
| Written by |
Screenplay: Daniel González Valdueña Jorge Polaco Book: Asher Benatar |
| Starring |
Graciela Borges Arturo Puig Luisa Vehil |
| Cinematography | Esteban Courtalon |
| Edited by | Oscar Gómez |
Release dates | Unreleased |
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | Argentina |
| Language | Spanish |
Kindergarten is a 1989 Argentine movie directed by Jorge Polaco, based on Asher Benatar's 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.
Plot
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 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.
The end has Luciano imprisoning and gassing Graciela and Arturo, and then escaping with Luisa on a horse-drawn carriage.
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.[1]