Educational Media Reviews Online

As Pablo sits attentively by a window, his younger sister Maria Victoria peddles her tricycle around in circles singing, "Lady bug, lady bug, fly away home. Your house is on fire and your children will burn." Thus begins the short film My House is on Fire, by the father-son team of Ariel and Rodrigo Dorfman.

Set in a house occupied by a family of illegal Latin American immigrants, the film revolves around the games of Pablo and his little sister Maria Victoria. When a van pulls to a halt in front of their house, Pablo and Maria Victoria begin a game called "waiting for the enemy." They build a makeshift hiding place from a sheet of plastic and two chairs and attempt to hide from the strangers outside. When one of the strangers appears in the house with their father, Pablo believes he is an enemy who has come to take them away while Maria Victoria believes he is a friend there to help her family. Each child thus responds very differently to the stranger. Throughout this tale, the Dorfmans deftly create a suspenseful atmosphere and a palpable sense of anxiety which will leave viewers wondering which child will prove to be right about the stranger. Though viewed through the lens of a game, the question of whether the stranger is friend or foe has very real implications for the family's well-being.

For Pablo the game is not a game at all, but an exercise in terror. For the sake of his little sister, who does not yet fully understand the implications of discovery, he attempts to make the hiding seem like a game to get her to do what is necessary. The Dorfmans effectively contrast the innocence and carefree spirit usually associated with child's play with the type of "game" children of illegal immigrants are forced to play - to hide, to be silent, to be suspicious of strangers, to give nothing away. Through the eyes of Pablo, viewers experience the fear and uncertainty experienced by illegal immigrant children every day. Beautifully filmed and choreographed, My House is on Fire is a must see for viewers interested in the illegal immigrant experience.

The film will have additional significance for viewers who know something of the elder Dorfman's work. My House is on Fire was adapted from a short story of the same name written by Dorfman after being exiled from Chile when Pinochet took power in the 1970s. The original story shared a similar plot and themes of fear and silence, focusing on the Chilean experience, repressive government, and political terror. Though the film adaptation is based on the experience of an illegal immigrant family living in the US, the terror felt is no less real than in the original story. Individuals who know Dorfman's body of work will also find familiar symbolism in the Donald Duck toy the stranger picks up from the front porch of Pablo's house - a symbol of US imperialism and economic control touched upon in his classic work, coauthored with A. Mattelart, How to Read Donald Duck: Imperialist Ideology in the Disney Comic.

This video is appropriate for all age groups and is particularly relevant to courses in Latin American studies, literature, politics, sociology, or any course dealing with issues of illegal immigration and/or political terror. Though strong enough to stand on its own, the video would have even greater impact in the classroom when studied in conjunction with Dorfman's other works.

Highly recommended.