Une seconde mère

For those of us who have known nannies, the easiest generalization we can make is it's too bad she can't be with her own children. Well. Anna Muylaert's Brazilian film, The Second Mother, shows what happens when nanny-housekeeper Val (Regina Case) in an upper-class Sao Paulo home has her estranged, grown daughter, Jessica (Camila Mardila), stay with her before Jessica takes her college exams.

The disappointment Jessica feels about her mother's subservient life seems natural enough given Jessica's ambition to be an architect. The real conflict is within Val's heart where Jess's openness with the family Val serves and their embracing her as an equal can't abide Val's lifetime of service, which teaches never to intrude, never assume a place at their table, never swim in their pool. All of which Jess gleefully does.

The remarkable character of this film is how it reflects the points of views of mom and daughter without judging the appropriateness of either position. Jess is often described as being snobbish and Val too easily cowed by the family. The film's generous heart allows enough time for each of the principals to grow in understanding the other.

The Second Mother spends too little time on the interpersonal relationships and ends without solid resolution of the characters' differences. What neither mom nor daughter seems to get is that the stark class divide in Brazil brooks no exceptions; in effect, Val will be stuck here for the rest of her life, and Jess will escape through education. The film seems to suggest that the upper-class Val serves is impenetrable except through marriage or education.

"Why do elites hate the poor? It's xenophobia. They don't know any poor people - except their off-the-books Brazilian nanny and illegal immigrant cleaning lady from Upper Revolta who don't speak English." P. J. O'Rourke

A subtle look into the not very subtle work relations in Brazil, where slavery is all but truly abolished. After working for over 10 years both as nanny and housemaid to an upper middle class family in São Paulo, Val is supposedly regarded as one of the family, occupying, however, shabby and crammed quarters in the beautiful mansion of her employers. When the family agrees to welcome Val's daughter for a short time while she sits for college admission exams, everyone gets a lot more than they bargained for. The bright girl's presence will affect the whole household, putting to the test the politically correct attitude of the employers to their employees and making evident the full hypocrisy of the situation. The material director and screenplay writer Muylaert deals with is potentially both tragic and comic. She has wisely chosen comedy, but not the laughing out loud kind. This film will put a light smile on your face while making you a little uncomfortable at the same time, particularly if, like most Brazilians, you don't really see everyone in society exactly as your equal.

Brazilian filmmaking won me over a lot last year with the sensitive, funny and uplifting The Way He Looks, now I'm back in Brazil's court with the endearing The Second Mother. Their filmmakers doing domestic drama the way America should be, taking it in humanistic ways without over-complication. It's a simple setup, one organic and truthful despite how nuanced the drama is. When Val's estranged teenage daughter comes to stay with the affluent family she lives with and serves, the balance is upset by her simply using their pool and eating their ice cream. It highlights the social constructs which are assumed with certain boundaries and duties. The family considers Val part of the family, but far from treats her like one, and Regina Case's performance as Val is effortless and stellar. The film points out those hypocrisies in a well defined, lightly comedic and dramatically satisfying way. Writer/director Anna Muylaert knows how to play all her cards right, including careful mise en scene to distinguish the dichotomies between class and their spaces. The film is a whisper with its quiet drama, but its implications are loud, striking a tender chord.

8/10

"The Second Mother" (2015 release from Brazil; 112 min.; original title "Que Horas Ela Volta?" or "What Time Will She Be Back?") brings the story of Val, who has been working as a live-in maid for many years (later we learn it's about 15 years) at a well-off family in Sao Paolo. She's part of the family, yet of course knows the rules of the do's and don't's that come with being the maid. Then out of the blue appears Val's daughter Jessica, whom she hasn't seen in years. Jessica wants to study to take the entrance test at the FAU (Architecture and Urbanization School). As it happens, Fabinho, the son of the family, is as well. On top of that, Jessica has different ideas as to what rules she should or shouldn't abide by, being the daughter of the live-in maid. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments; this is the latest movie from noted Brazilian writer-director Anna Muylaert (a very Belgian name indeed). She has previously brought us "The Year My Parents Went On Vacation", among others. Here she looks at the class differences in Brazilian society, something that Brazilian cinema has a long history and track record in. There are a number of telling scenes in the movie, none more so (for me anyway) when Jessica tells the well-off family that she plans to take the notoriously difficult and selective FAU entrance exam. "This country is really changing" mutters the mother, in what could be a positive way, but really is a condescending tone. While the movie is billed as a drama, there are plenty of lighter moments in it as well, usually courtesy of Regina Case in the role of Val. The whole movie is on her shoulder, and she does is with a wink and a smile. As to the movie's US title, which departs significantly from the original title, you will see in the movie that there are several ways to interpret that. One minor negative is that the movie is a bit long for its own good. With some tighter editing, this could've been about 15 min. shorter without losing much. But in the end it's a minor quibble.

I saw this movie on what turned out to be the last day of its one week run at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. Not surprisingly, the early evening screening where I saw this at was not well attended. Maybe this will find a second life when it comes out on DVD. If you are in the mood for a top quality foreign movie that's short on 'action' but long on substance, you cannot go wrong with this, be it at the theater, on VOD or on DVD/Blu-ray. "The Second Mother" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Regina Case gives a heartfelt performance as the maid to a rich and rather snobby family – and as the mother to her long lost daughter. It is after the daughter reunites with the mother after a long ten year absence (not clearly explained) that the wheels of this film really start to churn to generate tension, but also immense warmth.

Even though the film does meander now and then – every scene with Regina Case as surrogate mother to her adopted household, especially the son, and the real mother of her daughter gives off an energy of feeling and vitality. It is beautiful to behold the radiation that emanates in all her scenes. And its' nice to walk out of a film with the milk of human kindness – a rarity these days.