THE SECOND MOTHER

thesecondmother_by-alinearruda-aa_7641_wide-68b13b066e6cfa758656de466edf6da4d00c5332-s900-c85Written and directed by Anna Muylaert, The Second Mother follows Val, a live-in housekeeper who is like a mother to the son of the family she works for, but has been estranged from her own daughter for years. Muylaert delivers a subtle yet beautiful dramatic film about family and second chances. (JEP: 4/5)

Review by Contributing Editor Jessica E. Perry

“Val” (Regina Casé) has worked as a housekeeper for the same family for years. When she began, “Fabinho” (Michel Joelsas) was just a little boy, asking her insistently when his mother was going to come home. With two absentee, although caring, parents Fabinho has come to regard Val as family.

Now all grown up, Val is still the one Fabinho turns to, still the one he comes to when he cannot sleep. His mother, “Barbara” (Karine Teles) struggles to make the same connection with Fabinho that he has with Val.

Although Val may be like a second mother to Fabinho, she has been an absentee parent to her own daughter “Jéssica” (Camila Márdila). She has not seen her daughter, who is about the same age as Fabinho, in ten years.

One day Val receives a call from Jéssica asking if she can come live with her. Jéssica wishes to come to study for her examinations, as she is hoping to get into an architecture university in the very same town in which Val lives. Barbara and her husband “Carlos” (Lourenco Mutarelli) readily agree that Jessica can stay on an additional mattress in Val’s room.

However, when Jéssica arrives, her free-spirited nature begins to cause friction between Val and her employers. Jéssica does not understand how her mother can be content living day-to-day treated like a second-class citizen. But Val does not understand how Jessica can walk around the house like she is better than everyone else.

The two women must learn to understand each other, and how to once again be a family. Val sacrificed raising her daughter in order to have a job that paid her enough so she could send money home to the family. Naturally, as any young child would, Jéssica felt abandoned.

The Second Mother is a beautiful film that captures the importance of family—blood related or not—and the beauty of second chances. Anna Muylaert, who both wrote and directed the film, has surely done her job. The Second Mother has already won five awards, including the Special Jury Prize and Grand Jury prize for World Cinema-Dramatic film at this year’s Sundance film festival.

Regina Casé was an absolutely delight as Val. I was invested in her story from beginning to end, her performance subtle but entirely convincing. Camila Márdila appears to be relatively new to the film world, as The Second Mother is only her third IMDB credit. She is surely one to watch out for, as she was perfectly cast as Jéssica and her performance was wonderful to watch.

© Jessica E. Perry FF2 Media (8/29/15)The_Second_Mother_Still

Top Photo: Val takes a break from a stressful day.

Bottom Photo: Jéssica and Val do not see eye to eye.

Photo Credits: Oscilloscope Pictures

Q: Does The Second Mother pass the Bechdel Test?RedA

Yes, definitely!

Val and her daughter share many moving scenes, depicting their estrangement and different worldviews. But what sets them apart eventually brings them back together, once the two women are able to find common ground.

80 comments

  1. I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create
    this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you?
    Plz answer back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like
    to know where u got this from. many thanks

  2. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this,
    like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit, but other than that,
    this is great blog. An excellent read. I will certainly be back.

  3. Hi, i feel that i noticed you visited my weblog thus i came to go back the choose?.I’m attempting to in finding issues to enhance my site!I guess its
    ok to make use of some of your ideas!!

  4. Today, I went to the beach front with my children. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old
    daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed.
    There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go
    back! LoL I know this is totally off topic but I had to tell someone!

  5. I like the helpful info you provide in your articles.
    I will bookmark your blog and check again here regularly.

    I’m quite certain I will learn many new stuff right here! Best of luck for the next!

  6. Unquestionably believe that which you stated.
    Your favorite justification appeared to be on the internet the simplest thing to be aware of.

    I say to you, I certainly get annoyed while people consider worries that they plainly don’t know about.
    You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the whole thing without having side-effects
    , people could take a signal. Will probably be back to get more.
    Thanks

  7. Hi just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you know a
    few of the images aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but
    I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show
    the same results.

  8. Excellent blog here! Also your web site loads up fast!

    What host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to
    your host? I wish my site loaded up as quickly as yours lol

  9. Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon on a daily basis.
    It will always be helpful to read through articles from other writers and practice a little something from their websites.

  10. Everything is very open with a very clear explanation of the challenges.
    It was really informative. Your site is extremely helpful.
    Thank you for sharing!

  11. We’re a group of volunteers and starting a
    new scheme in our community. Your website provided us with valuable information to work on. You have done a formidable job and our entire community will be thankful to you.

  12. I’ve been exploring for a little for any high quality
    articles or blog posts in this sort of area .
    Exploring in Yahoo I ultimately stumbled upon this site.
    Reading this information So i am satisfied to exhibit that I have an incredibly just right uncanny feeling
    I came upon just what I needed. I such a lot unquestionably will make sure to do not forget this website and give it
    a glance regularly.

  13. My coder is trying to persuade me to move to .net from
    PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the costs.

    But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on a variety of
    websites for about a year and am worried about switching to another platform.
    I have heard good things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import
    all my wordpress posts into it? Any help would be really appreciated!

  14. Spot on with this write-up, I honestly feel this site needs far more attention. I’ll probably be
    returning to read more, thanks for the info!

  15. Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the pictures aren’t loading properly.

    I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue.

    I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same results.

  16. Spot on with this write-up, I truly believe this amazing
    site needs a lot more attention. I’ll probably be back again to read more, thanks for the
    advice!

  17. No matter if some one searches for his essential thing, therefore he/she wishes to be available that in detail, thus that
    thing is maintained over here.

  18. Thanks for another wonderful post. Where else may anybody get that type
    of information in such an ideal method of writing?
    I’ve a presentation subsequent week, and I am at the search for such info.

  19. Greetings! Very helpful advice within this post! It’s the
    little changes that will make the most significant
    changes. Many thanks for sharing!

  20. Nice blog right here! Also your site lots up very fast!

    What web host are you the usage of? Can I get your associate hyperlink to
    your host? I desire my web site loaded up as quickly as yours lol

  21. I think what you said was actually very logical. But,
    what about this? suppose you were to write a awesome headline?
    I am not saying your information isn’t good., however suppose
    you added a title that makes people want more? I mean THE SECOND MOTHER
    – FF2 Media is a little plain. You ought to glance at Yahoo’s front
    page and watch how they create post headlines to grab people interested.
    You might add a related video or a related picture or two to
    grab people excited about what you’ve written. In my opinion, it
    would make your posts a little livelier.

  22. It’s perfect time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy.

    I’ve read this post and if I could I desire to suggest you some interesting things or suggestions.
    Perhaps you can write next articles referring to this article.
    I desire to read even more things about it!

  23. What i don’t understood is in reality how you’re no longer actually
    a lot more neatly-preferred than you may be now.
    You are so intelligent. You recognize thus significantly with regards to this
    topic, made me for my part believe it from so many various angles.
    Its like women and men aren’t interested until it’s something to
    accomplish with Lady gaga! Your individual stuffs
    nice. All the time handle it up!

  24. I’m not sure why but this weblog is loading incredibly slow for me.
    Is anyone else having this problem or is it a issue
    on my end? I’ll check back later on and see if the problem still exists.

  25. Hmm it seems like your site ate my first comment (it
    was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum
    it up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
    I too am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to
    everything. Do you have any tips and hints for rookie blog writers?

    I’d really appreciate it.

  26. Hi there very nice blog!! Man .. Beautiful .. Superb .. I’ll bookmark your
    blog and take the feeds additionally? I’m glad to seek out so many useful info right here in the post, we need work
    out extra strategies on this regard, thank you for sharing.
    . . . . .

  27. Wonderful goods from you, man. I’ve consider your stuff prior to and
    you are just extremely magnificent. I really like what you’ve received here,
    certainly like what you’re stating and the way in which by which you say it.
    You are making it entertaining and you still care for to stay
    it sensible. I can not wait to learn much more from you. That is really a tremendous website.

  28. Pretty section of content. I simply stumbled upon your blog and in accession capital to claim
    that I acquire actually loved account your weblog posts.

    Anyway I’ll be subscribing in your augment and even I fulfillment you access constantly fast.

  29. Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this,
    like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with a few
    pics to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is
    fantastic blog. An excellent read. I’ll definitely be back.

  30. I’m no longer certain where you are getting your info, however good topic.
    I must spend some time studying much more or working out more.
    Thank you for magnificent info I used to be searching for this information for my
    mission.

  31. Hello! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok.

    I’m definitely enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.

  32. Hey! I understand this iss kind plenty of great Chaturbate French out there off-topic but I had to ask.
    Does building a well-established blog like yours take a massive mount work?
    I am brtand new to operating a blogg however
    I do write in mmy diary every day. I’d like to start
    a blog so I will be able to share my personal experience and views online.
    Please let me know iif you have anny kind of ideas or tips for brand new
    aspiring bloggers. Thankyou!

  33. I like the helpful info you supply for your articles.
    I will bookmark your blog and check once more here frequently.
    I am slightly sure I’ll be informed a lot of new stuff rright here!
    Best oof luk for thhe next!

    Feel free to visit my webpage tifilakademi.com

  34. Spot on with this write-up, I honestly beliwve that this wensite needs much more attention. I’ll probably be returning to read through more, thanks for the information!

    Also visit my blog: xxx video

  35. Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and
    wanted too say that I hhave really enjoyed surfing around your
    blog posts. After all I’ll be subsscribing
    to your rss feed and I hope yyou write again soon!

    Haave a look at my blog post; Rosalyn

  36. Hello there, I discoveredd your site by the use
    of Google whilst searching for a related subject, your web site came up, it looks great.
    I’ve bookmarked it iin my google bookmarks.
    Hello there, simply changed into alert to your weblog via Google,and located thast it’s really informative.

    I’m going to be careful for brussels. I’ll be grateful in case
    you continue this {in future}. A lot of other folks shall
    be benefited out of your writing. Cheers!

    my homepage … today’s best overall teen nudes option

  37. What’s up it’s me, I am also visiting this website regularly, this website
    is truly fastidious and the visitors are genuinely sharing nice thoughts.

  38. Nice post. I used to be checking constantly this weblog and I’m inspired!
    Very helpful info particularly the closing phase 🙂 I handle such info a lot.
    I used to be seeking this certain information for
    a long time. Thanks and best of luck.

  39. Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my
    comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyways, just
    wanted to say wonderful blog!

  40. This is very interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger.

    I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your wonderful post.

    Also, I’ve shared your web site in my social networks!

  41. Drug Metoprolol Succinate Extended Release Strength 50 mg Pill Imprint 565 Color White Shape Round buy cialis pills Given the new, mounting evidence around axillary staging, the Working Group of the Breast Advisory Group of Ontario Health OH CCO felt that a pragmatic guideline for the management of the axilla would be of great help to clinicians and patients alike

Leave a Reply to online real money poker Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *