''Kindergarten'' is a 1989

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

drama film co-written and directed by Jorge Polaco, based on Asher Benatar's novel of the same name. It stars

Graciela Borges Graciela Borges (; born Graciela Noemí Zabala, June 10, 1941) is an Argentine television and film actress. Borges was born in Dolores. Having made her film debut at 14, she has acted in over fifty films and was featured in 2006 in ''Vogue P ...

Arturo Puig Arturo Puig (born 17 November 1944) is an Argentine theatre, television and motion picture actor. He has worked in the 1990s success ''Grande, pá!!!'' Biography Arturo Puig became famous as the lead actor of 1970s telenovelas, such as "''Me l ...

and

Luisa Vehil Luisa Vehil (November 12, 1912, Montevideo, Uruguay – October 24, 1991, Buenos Aires, Argentina) was an Uruguayan theater and movie actress who had a notable career in Argentina. She was an iconic figure in the Argentine theatre scene. Biogr ...

. It was banned from theaters one day short of its release, and remained unreleased in Argentina until 2010, when a restored copy premiered in

Mar del Plata Film Festival The Mar del Plata International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata) is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is the only competitive feature fest ...

.Forbidden film "Kindergarten" is released after 21 years
11-18-2010, '' Clarín''

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

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 Cecilia is a personal name originating in the name of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. The name has been popularly used in Europe (particularly the United Kingdom and Italy, where in 2018 it was the 43rd most popular name for girls born ...

. 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

for the first time since its shooting over 20 years before.

References

External links

* 1989 films Argentine drama films Incest in film Film controversies in Argentina Obscenity controversies in film 1980s Argentine films {{1980s-Argentina-film-stub