Review by John Delia
Told from the point of view of writer and director Anna Muylaert the movie The Second Mother (Que Horas Ela Volta?) shows the heartrending plight of a woman who gives up personal happiness for her daughter. Now in select theaters in America the movie shows the lengths a mother will go just to provide a modest life for their child. Fascinating yet compassionate the fictional light drama mirrors a good portion of real life in Brazil. The film won the “Audience Award†at the Berlin Film Festival.
It’s early morning as Val (Regina Case), the live-in housekeeper and nanny for a wealthy upper class family in Sao Paulo, awakens Fabinho (Camila Mardila) the child she has taken care of for 10 years. Val’s from northern Brazil and has not been back since she took the job raising another family’s child. She goes on with her chores cleaning up and getting Fabinho’s father Jose Carlos (Lourenco Mutarelli) his breakfast. The matron of the house is Fabinho’s mother Barbara (Karine Teles) who’s a popular woman in Sao Paulo. After getting a telephone call from her estranged 18-year-old daughter Jessica (Camila Mardila) who hasn’t talked to her in 3 years, Val seems a little puzzled.
It so happens that Jessica wants to come to Sao Paulo to live near her mother and apply for college at one of the most difficult schools in Brazil. She arrives and gets a warm welcome from Barbara, Fabinho and Jose Carlos. Jose Carlos starts treating her like she’s his daughter and Fabinho like his sister, and Barbara starts to feel uneasy with the situation. When Val tries to get her daughter to show respect and not intrude on the family, she gets the answer that she’s been avoiding over the many years she’s been an absent mother.
A heartfelt story with a lot of very funny situations director and writer Anna Muylaert keeps her film uncomplicated. She works her characters into a cunning situation that shows what can happen in a world where society runs at several levels. Fabinho has taken the place of Val’s daughter and she covets the boy as if it were her own. Its Val’s way of dealing with her situation of trying to provide a decent existence through the money she sends home for her own growing child. When faced with reality however, Muylaert puts forth a challenge and the difficult choice that Val will have to make.
Regina Case gives an outstanding performance as the mother who gave up her happiness so her child would rise up above the social norm. As Val she shows a staunch persona knowing in her mind she’s doing the right thing. But, she also displays the other side deep down in her heart which is the hardest thing to face. Case won the “Special Jury Prize†for acting at the Sundance Film Festival for her role as Val and rightly so. She’s a terrific actress and hopefully we will see her more of her.
The Second Mother has been rated R by the MPAA for some language and brief drug use. The film spools out in the Portuguese language with English subtitles. Be cautious when allowing pre-teens see the film as although the language is brief, there’s also teenage pot smoking.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A wonderful film filled with a heartwarming story. (A)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Regina Case, Camila Mardila, Michel Joelsas, Karine Teles, Lourenco Mutarelli, Helena Albergaria.
Directed by: Â Anna Muylaert
Genre: Drama, Foreign
MPAA Rating: R for some language and brief drug use
Running Time: 1 hr. 52 min.
Language: Portuguese dialogue w/English subtitles
Release Date: September 25, 2015
Distributed by: Oscilloscope Laboratories