The Second Mother

It's a bit slow paced, but smart and emotive enough to pass the time. Tension builds curiously, comically, and cohesively. The conflicts are uncomfortable and lightly comedic, and at times I felt as awkward as a surprise house guest. It's not as light-hearted as the trailer suggests, and the sparse, bummer soundtrack at times suggests a dark and cynical tone in spite of my desire to root for the loving protagonist. Casé is to die for. Her performance is funny and charming.

I loved this, the warmth of the central character radiated out and it felt very believable, the unspoken toeing the line until the daughter precipitates change.

Let's see, I rated Roma 77, so this gets one more. Tight chamber drama around three women at various points in class structures and dynamics, makes it sound boring. Surprisingly funny and heartfelt family story about forgiving old abandonments makes it sound hokey. It's neither, and both.

Great Flick!

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É mais um conflito de gerações do que um conflito de classes. O verdadeiro interesse está nisso.

Tudo muito real. Atuação sublime de Regina Casé! Cinema de primeira qualidade. Emocionante, engraçado, envolvente. Um agrado aos olhos e ao coração!

It's all narrated from the mom and daughter's POV, but why doesn't this feel empowering? Anna's class debate among the walls and rooms of a Morumbi mansion brings a gentle, if not conservative and too didactic depiction of the working-class, who is given only symbolic victories (Val walks in the pool, Jessica is admitted at FAU). But Anna's talent to frame disquieting moments manages to keep the film in a highly uncomfortable zone, both confident (Jessica, Barbara) and uptight (Val, Zé Carlos).

great movie

All the characters are terrible, the story is boring and awfully slow-paced, and Regina Casé just plays a caricature of herself. Hated it.

While everyone loves a class-battle, I didn't feel they got any life out of this personal Brazilian liberation. Tries to do the servant/employer relationship subtle, a little too careful with the few altercations changing the relationships when the servants daughter comes to visit. Apparently this is one of the more acclaimed Brazilian films to come out in 2015, but for me it was mostly mediocre.