The Second Mother

2015
7.7| 1h52m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 04 June 2015 Released
Producted By: Gullane Entretenimento
Country: Brazil
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

After leaving her daughter Jessica in a small town in Pernambuco to be raised by relatives, Val spends the next 13 years working as a nanny to Fabinho in São Paulo. She has financial stability but has to live with the guilt of having not raised Jessica herself. As Fabinho’s university entrance exams approach, Jessica reappears in her life and seems to want to give her mother a second chance. However, Jessica has not been raised to be a servant and her very existence will turn Val’s routine on its head. With precision and humour, the subtle and powerful forces that keep rigid class structures in place and how the youth may just be the ones to shake it all up.

Genre

Drama

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Director

Anna Muylaert

Production Companies

Gullane Entretenimento

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The Second Mother Audience Reviews

VividSimon Simply Perfect
Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.
Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
alexrene-80054 Val is a housekeeper for a wealthy family in São Paulo Brazil. Despite being like "part of the family" and raising the family's son, Fabinho, as if he were her own son, Val has been separated from her own family for many years as she works to make money to support her daughter. When that daughter, Jessica, needs a place to stay while she studies for her entrance exam for a prestigious college in São Paulo, Val is all too eager to be reunited with the child she had to leave behind so many years ago. Val has been a live-in housekeeper/nanny for the family for years, and the issues begin when Jessica quickly shows that she has no respect for the unspoken rules that govern class within the household. The title of the film roughly translates to "When will she return?" and the theme of mothers separated from their children reappears throughout the film. Val and Jessica are not close because Jessica was raised by family while Val made money to support her. Fabinho and Dona Barbara are similarly estranged by her career. This film explores the dynamic and class boundaries within the household. Although Val considers herself part of the family, Jessica's disruptive presence quickly reveals that this is not quite the case. Val is also physically separated from the family, dwelling within her own domain in the kitchen and constantly eavesdropping on the conversations that take place in the dining room just through the open doorway. Que Horas Ela Volta? is hilarious, well-acted, and at times a little uncomfortable to watch. Val and Jessica may not disassemble class structure in Brazil, but the ridiculous and sometimes demeaning treatment that Val receives from Dona Barbara does cause the viewer to reject that treatment, which is a start.
biridianaescobar The Second Mother (2015) directed by Anna Muylaert is a fascinating film. I really love that the director focuses on positive aspects of topics that are not normally spoken about positively.This film focuses on the life of the protagonist Val. Val moves to Sao Paulo leaving her daughter behind to provide a better life for her. In Sao Paulo, Val works as a maid for a wealthy family. She lives with this family and takes care of the only child of the family, Fabinho. When Val's daughter, Jessica, is almost eighteen years old, she calls Val asking if she can live with her while she studies to take the admission exam at the University of Sao Paulo. Val asks the family she lives with for permission to let Jessica live with them while they look for an apartment for both of them. The lady of the house, Dona Barbara, gives Val permission. When Jessica arrives at the house of the wealthy family, she is surprised that she expects her to sleep in the tight room where Val stays. Dona Barbara's husband, Don Carlos, is attracted to Jessica. He lets her do what she wants and treats her like a person of the family. Val scolds Jessica a lot and tells her that she should not have social interactions with the family because they are poor.I love Jessica's character and the positive use that the director gave to that character. For example, the director gives a poor person access to one of the best universities in Brazil. On the other hand, a rich boy did not pass the exam to enter that university. I loved this because the director changed the typical stereotype. The director also did this with Jessicas' character by making her self-confident and fighting for her rights.
SnoopyStyle Val is the live-in maid for an affluent family in São Paulo. Dona Bárbara is the boss. Her husband José Carlos is a failed artist but the family's money is an inheritance from his father. Their only child Fabinho has been raised almost entirely by Val. She is essentially her mother. She is "almost family". Her biological daughter Jessica is almost 18 and raised by her relatives. She arrives to stay with the family while she takes the University entrance exam. She is outspoken and starts causing friction in the home.There are some insightful and comical characterizations. There are a couple of minor problems. Carlos asking Jessica to marry him is awkward. It's not funny although there is a point to it. I just think it could be done better. The other point is Val standing in the pool. It would have been a great moment to end the movie. The last section drags on and on. There is a story element that gives the movie poetic symmetry but in the whole, it's better to end it on a high. This is an interesting movie with interesting characters.
Rodrigo Junqueira Perticarari I really loved it, and I think it's one of Brazil's best movies.It is about the relationship between Brazilian employers and employees. Val, the maid, has been working at a house for many years. Her employers like her and treat her well. Their son sees her as his second mother. However,this is about to change when her daughter comes to town and has to stay there for a few days. The prejudice towards Val comes to surface as she finds out it is not so easy to be poor in Brazil. The main actress is amazing, and so is the whole cast. It surely deserves at least an Oscar nomination for best foreign movie. I hope everybody gets the chance to watch it and love it.