The Second Mother

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.

In São Paulo, the housekeeper Val (Regina Casé) has been working for Carlos (Lourenço Mutarelli) and Bárbara (Karine Teles) in their elegant house at Morumbi since their teenager son Fabinho (Michel Joelsas) since he was a child. Her estranged teenager daughter Jéssica (Camila Márdila), who lives in Pernambuco, was raised by her father and another woman but financially supported by Val. When Jéssica calls her mother to tell that she will travel to São Paulo to do the entrance exam for one of the best universities in São Paulo, Val asks permission to her employers to bring Jéssica to her room. They agree and the teenager is welcomed by the family. But soon she becomes a problem to Val since she does not follow the usual submission of maids, breaking the class barriers in the house and bringing disturbance to the relationships.

"Que Horas Ela Volta?" is a low-budget Brazilian film with an original story of class conflict and generation gap. Regina Casé has an outstanding performance in the role of a woman incapable to raise her own daughter since she needs to work as nanny of the son of her employers. She seeks redemption in the end expecting to raise her grandson. The cast is magnificent and the feeling of guilty of Val is easy to be understood. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Que Horas Ela Volta?" ("At What Time Does She Come Back?")

It's not everyday that we get a film like this, not willing to really dive into the political, social issues that pervade everyday life, and the cultural barriers and differences that micro- aggressions really make. The acting in this is superb, especially from Regina Case. It's all very natural and in the vein of real life, to an almost unbearably disturbing extent. The screenplay and directing are superb. None of it is at all showy, but it all builds up to quietly powerful, and deeply emotional, moments and scenes. The characterization is rich and it all really sneaks up on you in terms of its effect. definitely recommended, although it's not for those wanting loud or showy extravaganza.

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.