Alice's House

Chico Teixeira’s languid, libidinous Alice’s House is the best argument against marriage and motherhood to appear in many a year.

Teixeira elicits extraordinary performances from his entire cast.

The power of this plot comes from the drudgery of daily existence, not shocking revelations or dramatic encounters. Some stories, Teixeira is wise enough to realize, are best left unadorned.

The gritty location shooting, the absence of a soundtrack and the casting of non-professionals in key roles help capture an all-important sense of place with almost documentary precision.

What Teixeira has set out to do, and accomplished brilliantly, is to find drama and pathos in the mundane details, thoughtless betrayals and casual cruelties. What lingers after watching Alice's House are not the moments of conflict but the inexorable rhythms of daily life.

Too undernourished dramatically to make much of a splash. While it should earn some respectful reviews, audiences won't come away satisfied.

If telenovelas were convincingly real, they would no doubt look like the tumultuous world of domestic strife and libido deftly limned in Alice's House. Documaker Chico Teixeira gives a light, natural feel to his small but fetching first feature.