SummaryVal, a hard-working live-in housekeeper in modern day Sao Paulo, is perfectly content to take care of every one of her wealthy employers’ needs, from cooking and cleaning to being a surrogate mother to their teenage son, who she has raised since he was a toddler. But when Val’s estranged daughter Jessica suddenly shows up the unspoken but intrins... Read More
Directed By:Anna Muylaert
Written By:Anna Muylaert
The Second Mother
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
82
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.9
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
96% Positive
25 Reviews
25 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Aug 27, 2015
100
Ms. Muylaert’s guiding principle seems to have been fearlessness, and her film, which was shot by Barbara Alvarez, is superb on all counts.
Sep 2, 2015
91
This Brazilian drama offers a nuanced, often funny look at family and social status, and Casé’s performance is both heartbreaking and hilarious.
User score
Universal Acclaim
93% Positive
116 Ratings
116 Ratings
3% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
4% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Jan 27, 2023
10
A real explanation about the reality of beeing poor in Brazil. Regina Cazé's role as Val is just unbeatable: Val is the best possible representation of a poor Northweastearn in Brazil. Regina Cazé in The Second Mother is, along with Fernanda Montenegro as Dora in Central Station, the best performance of a brazilian actress i've ever seen. Just amazing
May 22, 2018
10
"Estabelecendo-se como um filme que, como dizia Eric Rohmer, acaba funcionando também como um “documento de sua época”, Que Horas Ela Volta? é um estudo de personagem e, não menos importante, de um país em mudança. É uma obra que aponta a contradição entre uma elite que se julga generosa e liberal, mas conversa em inglês diante dos subalternos quando não quer ser compreendida por estes. É um longa que sabe como é positivo que a filha da empregada não “saiba seu lugar”."
Aug 18, 2015
90
The script is executed with enough naturalism to ward off complaints of contrivance — all the way up to a tidy, but quite satisfying, denouement.
Sep 7, 2015
80
It’s a drama, and it smartly uses its little moments of humiliation to open our eyes to a world of delicate, but deep, injustice.
Sep 10, 2015
75
The Second Mother is an interesting look at generational and class divides in Brazil, without the feel of a lecture or lesson.
Aug 26, 2015
75
Brazilian director Anna Muylaert’s deft, funny film is set in São Paulo, but the class distinctions shown have no borders.
Aug 27, 2015
60
The Second Mother goes soft toward the end, defusing its conflicts too easily and inconsequentially.
Jan 17, 2016
10
Esse filme é uma peça muito importante para o cinema brasileiro. O roteiro, a direção, a filmagem, tudo nele funciona de uma forma esplêndida. Sobre a atuação da Regina Casé: nada mais que perfeita. Digna de Oscar, mas infelizmente a Acadêmia não permitiria tal prazer [por ser made in brazil].
Aug 29, 2015
10
I really loved this movie! The two main actresses are wonderful, and really moving. It is at the same time a comedy and a social drama about a maid who has parental issues with her daughter. I hope it can make to the 2016 Oscars.
Aug 28, 2015
10
No wonder the movie has received such positive reviews from public and critics, both in Sundance and Berlin. The movie is both masterful and delightful, with a well-written and heartfelt plot, that will appeal equally to the most demanding movie critic as well to the average moviegoer in search of a fun movie. The movie is not intended to be a comedy, but every scene feels so natural and true, that even the most ordinary act (such as eating ice-cream) will make the audience smile and even shed some tears.
Sep 13, 2018
9
Brazilian cinema has its value. Films like The Second Mother simply put some Hollywoodian movies on the shame. Rightly story's simplicity makes this film so incredible and charming. Story about "winning in life coming from a low situation" is known, but in this picture became above of all clichés at the same time that touches the public. One of some movie that makes Brazilian theater being worthwhile.
Sep 14, 2015
9
It is a drama about a live-in housekeeper that had to leave her own daughter and raise her employer’s son instead. The woman did not stay with her daughter for her entire pre-adult life. Then one day, she gets a call from her now eighteen year-old daughter. After years of refusing to talk to her mother, she had decided to come over to stay with her. This film is about family relations, the nature of motherhood and much more. It is done masterfully, with humor and realism. The acting is excellent, especially the protagonist. This movie is in Portuguese, with English subtitles. It's one of the best movies I have seen this year.
Production Company:
- Gullane
- Africa Filmes
- Globo Filmes
Release Date:Aug 28, 2015
Duration:1 h 52 m
Rating:R
Website:
Awards
Cinema Brazil Grand Prize
• 6 Wins & 15 Nominations
Prêmio Guarani
• 6 Wins & 12 Nominations
SESC Film Festival, Brazil
• 9 Wins & 9 Nominations
