Thoughtful and beautifully executed, Brazil’s entry for the 2008 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, “The Year My Parents Went on Vacation,” tells the story of a young boy exiled from his own life.

The year is 1970, and 12-year-old Mauro (Michel Joelsas) spends most of his energy on tabletop soccer. But he gets a rude awakening when his parents go on “vacation” to avoid the secret police. Left at his grandfather’s door, Mauro learns that, unlike his father, his grandfather Mótel (Paulo Autran) is always early — even in death.

When Mótel’s neighbor, Shlomo (Germano Haiut), arrives and informs Mauro of his grandfather’s demise, the solitary older man inherits responsibility for his friend’s unclaimed grandson. The resultant fish-out-of-water story avoids buddy-film cliché through its proximity to catastrophe. Though focusing on Mauro’s disjointed story, director Cao Hamburger consistently keeps the turmoil of 1970s Brazil in the picture. With an authoritarian government gaining power, the disappearance of Mauro’s left-leaning parents is a harbinger of things to come. Their departure is due more to self-preservation than disinterest, and soon others in Mauro’s life are affected by government intrusions.

Another element keeping the film refreshingly off-kilter is the issue of religious tolerance. Shocked and disturbed to learn that Mauro has not been circumcised, Shlomo is forced to the limits of his abilities in adjusting to this boy’s presence, just as Mauro is confused by the Jewish community into which he has been submerged.

No matter their intentions, Mauro’s parents have effectively abandoned their son. Forced to depend on the kindness of strangers, Mauro watches what little adolescent control he had over his life slip away, while Shlomo sees his altruism abused for naught. But before long, this divergent community envelops its stowaway, and everything begins to make sense.

Mr. Hamburger introduces his audience to a world at once alive and cut off. As Mauro’s connection to his former life becomes increasingly fragile, he develops an unnatural attachment to the telephone, and when his parents’ expected call fails to materialize, Mauro clings to his father’s promise that they will return for the upcoming World Cup.

Mauro might not be comforted by his new surroundings, but luckily, everyone in Brazil knows Pelé and Alberto. While waiting for his parents to appear, Mauro finds solid ground through the nation’s love of soccer and falls back into the rhythms of adolescence. He makes his first friend in Hanna (Daniela Piepszyk), a slightly awkward but spirited young girl who lives in Shlomo’s apartment building, develops his first crush on Irene (an ethereal Liliana Castro), a waitress at the nearby diner, and focuses his soccer obsession into learning how to tend goal.

Weaving through moments of religious confusion, political awakening, and familial loyalty, “The Year My Parents Went on Vacation,” which opens in the city today, offers myriad rewards. Through Mauro’s eyes, the viewer gets a wonderful snapshot of Brazil at the dawn of the ’70s. While never diverting from Mauro’s life, Mr. Hamburger tells a tale of political upheaval, national pride, and budding sexuality. As foreign as many of the elements of the story remain to Mauro, the audience is blocked from learning all of the details. Many events take place outside the frame of the film, but the landscape of Brazil in 1970 informs the action.

Mauro’s involuntary solitude becomes an impressively nuanced lesson for all those involved. Flush with beautifully captured shots, a jangling soundtrack, and precarious storytelling, “The Year My Parents Went on Vacation” shows both the fragility of youth and its resilience.

mkeane@nysun.com