Clevercell Very disappointing...

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

alexrene-80054 Val is a housekeeper for a wealthy family in São Paulo Brazil. Despite being like "part of the family" and raising the family's son, Fabinho, as if he were her own son, Val has been separated from her own family for many years as she works to make money to support her daughter. When that daughter, Jessica, needs a place to stay while she studies for her entrance exam for a prestigious college in São Paulo, Val is all too eager to be reunited with the child she had to leave behind so many years ago. Val has been a live-in housekeeper/nanny for the family for years, and the issues begin when Jessica quickly shows that she has no respect for the unspoken rules that govern class within the household. The title of the film roughly translates to "When will she return?" and the theme of mothers separated from their children reappears throughout the film. Val and Jessica are not close because Jessica was raised by family while Val made money to support her. Fabinho and Dona Barbara are similarly estranged by her career. This film explores the dynamic and class boundaries within the household. Although Val considers herself part of the family, Jessica's disruptive presence quickly reveals that this is not quite the case. Val is also physically separated from the family, dwelling within her own domain in the kitchen and constantly eavesdropping on the conversations that take place in the dining room just through the open doorway. Que Horas Ela Volta? is hilarious, well-acted, and at times a little uncomfortable to watch. Val and Jessica may not disassemble class structure in Brazil, but the ridiculous and sometimes demeaning treatment that Val receives from Dona Barbara does cause the viewer to reject that treatment, which is a start.

lmirandalcii Que Horas Ela Volta? (2015), directed by Anna Muylaert, tells the story of Val—a live-in nanny/maid who serves and tends to a wealthy couple and their teenage son in São Paolo. Val has evidently worked for this family for quite a while and is often seemingly accepted as a member of this family. It is evidenced at various points throughout the story that Val essentially functions as a second mother to the boy, giving rise to the English title of this film, The Second Mother.Not long into the film, it is unveiled that in order to work for this family, Val has left behind a family of her own, including her estranged daughter, Jéssica, with whom she has not spoken in a long time. Out of the blue, Val receives a call from Jéssica, who informs her mother that she will be visiting São Paolo in order to take a university placement exam. Val makes arrangements for her daughter to stay with her while she is in town and, though initially excited to meet Val's daughter, Val's employers become discontent when Jéssica refuses to accept her role as a "second-tier" individual. Contrary to their expectations, she openly eats at their table and does not stay confined to her mother's quarters. Instead, she sits at the main table and accepts meals and beverages from her mother's employer, Carlos. Carlos takes a romantic (and creepy) interest in Jéssica, allowing her to stay in the guest room instead of with Val. Without permission, Jéssica uses the pool, a privilege only the wealthy are supposed to have.The breaking point of the film presents itself when Fabinho (the employers' son), who is the same age as Jéssica, does not get into the university, but Jéssica does. Bárbara (the patroness) refuses to accept Jéssica's rise—her disregard for the class system—and effectively kicks Jéssica out of her home. Though initially angry at Jéssica's reluctance to accept her social role, her mother Val eventually seems to come around to her disregard for classism, apparent toward the end of the film, when she joyously dances in her employers' half-empty pool. On top of a great cast, this film is extremely well put-together and excels in its presentation and critique of this important social issue. As someone who grew up with immigrant, working-class parents, it is easy for me to relate to the struggles Jéssica faces as she grapples for acceptance.

efrainarteaga The movie, The Second Mother, is about a servant, who is called Val, who works for a family of money and has been there for a long time and one day Val's daughter, whose name is Jessica, calls her to ask if she can stay with her mom for while because she was studying for her exam which will determine if she will be able to enter the university or not. What happens is that, since she has been with that family for so long, she was the one who took care of the son, Fabinhode, of her employers, so she sees Fabinho as a son and he sees her as a mother, even though he has a mother. Now when Jessica comes to live with her mother, she thinks that she will live with only her mother in her house but Val lives with her employees. When Jessica finds out about this, she does not like it. The reason is because as her mother works for them, she does not have all the freedom that one wants. There are many examples of the passive struggle between Jessica and Val's boss, Doña Bárbara. Jessica does not understand why she can not do certain things while she lives there and that's what makes her angry. Meanwhile, the unfaithful father of the family, husband of Doña Bárbara, called Don Carlos, is interested in Jessica because she is a young, beautiful, intelligent, academic woman. There is a scene in which Don Carlos asks Jessica to marry him, but he tries to play it as a joke, but you can tell he meant it. The conclusion of the film was comforting, at least for me. Jessica ends up passing her exam and Val decides to move with Jessica and leave her job as a maid. I recommend this movie to anyone who likes heartwarming movies.

della-60189 A realistic view into the ever-present but never-mentioned class barrier, The Second Mother addresses social identity problems through the eyes of a lifetime maid and her renegade teen daughter. Val works tirelessly for almost nothing in return, and at times we can't help but feel sorry for her. The family that she serves is obviously of stature, and at times they seem to treat Val like a part of the family. But it is all the other times that reveal exactly what it is like for someone in the same situation as Val. It only gets worse when her daughter, Jesica, arrives at the house. Dr. Carlos seems to take a liking to her, so she is allowed special privileges in the house that make Val very uncomfortable. Throughout the movie, it is eluded to that Barbara is the head of the household. She gives stern orders to Val, but also shows interest in her life when Val mentions the arrival of her daughter. This is ironic, because it is ultimately Barbara who shuns Jesica out of the house. For me, it is difficult to see someone as hardworking as Val be treated the way that she is, but that is the realization of social classes. I believe at one point in the movie, Val tells Jesica that all of the rules are in place for them because that is just how it is, that is how it has always been. In the end, it is Jesica that serves as motivation for Val to resist the status quo, and ultimately join Jesica on her renegade journey. The two of them together set off to find themselves and perhaps challenge the strangling social norms that have resisted their success in the past.