The Second Mother (2015 film)
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Anna Muylaert |
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| Written by | Anna Muylaert |
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| Cinematography | Bárbara Alvarez |
| Edited by | Karen Harley |
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Release date
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Running time
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112 minutes |
| Country | Brazil |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Budget | R$4 million |
| Box office | R$ 6.2 million |
The Second Mother (Portuguese: Que Horas Ela Volta?, lit. When is she coming back?) is a 2015 Brazilian drama film written and directed by Anna Muylaert. The film stars Regina Casé as Val, the housemaid of a wealthy family in São Paulo, and portrays the tensions that arise after her daughter Jéssica moves into the family's house in order to apply for an admission exam at the University of São Paulo.
It premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was later released theatrically in Brazil on 27 August 2015. The film received critical praise in and outside Brazil and was selected as the Brazilian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.
Val, a woman from Pernambuco, moves to São Paulo to provide a better life for her daughter, Jéssica. In São Paulo, Val works as a live-in housemaid for an affluent family where she also takes care of the family's only child, Fabinho. Though Fabinho and Val have a close relationship it comes at the expense of her relationship with her daughter who continues to live in Pernambuco and harbours anger towards her mother for always being away.
When Jessica is nearing eighteen Val receives a call from her asking if she can stay with her briefly while she studies and takes the entrance exam to the University of São Paulo. Val, who lives in house with the family she cleans for, asks them for permission to let Jessica stay while she searches for an apartment for the two of them. Dona Barbara, the head of the house, grants her permission.
When Val goes to pick up Jessica from the bus depot there is immediate tension as Val hasn't seen Jessica in ten years and fails to recognize her daughter. Jessica also wants to go straight to Val's home without seeing her employers, and is shocked when she realizes that Val lives with her employers and expects her to stay in a cramped room with them.
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