A clash of cultures and class
Jealousy resurrected
The Second Mother (cert. 12A, Portuguese, English subtitles) is a superb Brazilian film dealing with family relationships, class distinctions, and disparity of wealth. Its original title, “Que Horas Ela Volta?”, is the question of Fabinho, the young child left in the care of the live-in maid as he wonders when his mother will be back.
Jump a dozen years to Fabinho (Michel Joelsas) as a young, maybe indolent, young man, still sometimes seeking comfort by climbing into bed with the maid, Val (Regina Casé). His “first” mother, Dona Bárbara (Karine Teles), is still spending her days at work, while his father Carlos (Lourenço Mutarelli) seems the inspiration for Fabinho’s lack of enterprise, having inherited his wealth.
That buys both an apartment in São Paulo and a house in the posh suburbs. The catalyst in the cosy arrangement is the arrival of Val’s daughter, who has been brought up in Recife by a relative on the money sent home by Val, and now wants to stay in the city to study architecture.
Jéssica (Camila Márdila) fails to grasp the “I know my place” arrangement of her mother’s role “below stairs”, getting a tour of the house, and expecting to get the guest room rather than share her mother’s cramped room. Playing around with Fabinho and his friend and getting thrown in the pool – which is barred to the domestic staff – prompts the first clash of class and culture, as Bárbara fails to share the more generous approach of her husband to the guest, while wondering what other generosities he might offer.
Fabinho casually remarks that Jéssica speaks like Val did when she first arrived, adding a regional aspect to the underlying class war. The family are sceptical of Jéssica’s hopes of getting a place at the prestigious Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, and one of the best scenes is the contrast between her fortunes and Fabinho’s in the admission tests for university.
That’s when, perhaps emboldened by her daughter’s lack of deference, Val lets her guard slip. Although cleaner Edna (Helena Albergaria) is around to bolster Val’s attempts to rein in Jéssica, the seeds of revolution have been sown.
Writer-director Anna Muylaert worked on the script for 20 years, starting when she employed a nanny to look after her child so she could pursue her career. The story reflects President Lula’s left wing government in Brazil in 2003-2011, which opened university admissions to less privileged students, and largely ended live-in domestic staff by making the employer pay overtime on all the hours in the home.
Regina Casé, now a very wealthy woman (described as the Oprah Winfrey of Brazil), brought her own experiences to the story. She and Camila Márdila shared a best actress prize at the Sundance Festival, but it’s Casé who gives the film its special moments.
She conveys Val’s guilt for abandoning her own child to look after another’s, and her joy at having Jéssica back with her, prompting her comment that “God writes straight with crooked lines”. Then she steals the show with her stolen delight at striking a blow for the workers by paddling in the emptied pool. 45 Years (dir. Andrew Haigh, cert. 15) is mainly a two-hander between Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay as a retired couple about to celebrate their 45th anniversary. Geoff (Courtenay) had a heart bypass when they should have celebrated their ruby anniversary, and he and Kate (Rampling) are heading for a party that neither really seems to want.
Kate takes the dog for early morning walks in autumn mists in the Norfolk countryside where they live, meeting the local postman as she returns home (a device to reveal she used to be a teacher, but really, a postal delivery at 8am seems unrealistic). The main question is whether the other plot device is credible, as she starts to get jealous about a woman who’s been dead for over 50 years.
Katia (note the closeness of the name) was Geoff’s lover in his youth, and while walking in Switzerland she disappeared into a crevasse. Blame global warming if you must, but Geoff gets a letter to say that her body has been found, perfectly preserved in the ice.
As they continue preparations for the weekend’s party, Geoff – who seemed distracted before he got the letter – is clearly in some distress at the news, and Kate starts to query in her mind whether she was always second best. As Geoff checks the loft for a picture of Katia, Kate takes exception, and that’s before she finds a slide projector set up with a whole magazine of grainy shots of her long-dead rival.
Geoff, bemoaning how becoming decrepit means “losing purposefulness”, also loses his ability to fulfil his marital duties, though whether this is habitual or another consequence of the news from the Alps is unclear. It doesn’t help Kate’s state of mind.
Filmed around Norwich, Martham and on the Broads (including on the paddle boat Southern Comfort), the settings seem to match the plot, with little sun to add colour and warmth. It thus rests on the marvellous acting of Courtenay and Rampling (Silver Bears for both at the Berlin Film Festival and BAFTA nominations likely), with notable support from Geraldine James.
The party has Geoff seemingly honest about his love for Kate, but if this is all-in-theeyes acting, then Kate’s eyes are as cold as Katia’s body. The film won best British feature at the Edinburgh Film Festival, but it’s not a film to send you home rejoicing; there’s not much mellow fruitfulness here.
Steve Parish