Directors: Fernando Meirelles, Nando Olival
Writer(s): Cecília Homem de Mello, Fernando Meirelles, Renata Melo, Nando Olival
Actor(s): Cláudia Missura, Graziela Moretto, Lena Roque
Production Co.: O2 Filmes
Country: Brazil
Year: 2001
Language: Dialogue in Portuguese with optional subtitles in Spanish.
Format: DVD
[ratings]
Summary: The story of the rough, intertwined lives of a handful of ‘domestics’ in São Paulo and their poignant struggle against the challenges of the huge metropolis, and the difficult balancing of work, family, and different interpersonal relationships.
I liked how the film jumped from person to person and showed the different perspectives of the house workers. The film overall had a happy ending even though it was about the struggles of the workers’ lives. I thought this film was interestingly made and executed.
I had mixed feeling about this film. While I enjoyed seeing Brazilian culture from a different perspective/ lower socio-economic class, I didn’t feel like it was extremely accurate. I thought it was kind of strange that it only showed “testimonies” of these workers but never showed their interactions with the families they worked for. Additionally I found that the soundtrack was extremely jarring and didn’t match the visuals in the movie. I also was very impressed by the acting, and thought that many scenes felt fake. Overall, it is eye opening to see Brazil from a different lens but I think that the cinematography could have been done differently.
**wasn’t impressed by the acting
I found the film very boring. I did not like it at all. The stories were too short and had no meaning. The film jumped around from person to person, which I did not like. The acting was somewhat decent, but lacked any connection to the audience. Like Nushy said, I didn’t think the film was accurate. Also, I did not like the ending because it did not tie in the rest of the film and characters. In the end, I do not recommend this film.
The film was a little bit confusing. At first, I did not see the connection clearly. Then there were sections where each person gave their input, separate from the storyline, which was confusing as well. It was interesting how the film gave the audience a sense of what the “doméstica” lifestyle is like.Overall, I appreciated seeing a different culture’s occupation but found the movie unclear.
The film was very confusing and difficult to understand. The acting was not very good and the film concept was not very original. I liked the other films we watched in class much more than this one. The film was not very cohesive and there was not an overarching theme either. The five main characters had very similar lifestyles. They were uneducated maids and that part of the film easily sunk into the story line but I wish I saw the complexity that was behind their identities. I am sure they had a back story but it was not very obvious in the film.
As has been said in previous comments, I felt that the film was not an accurate portrayal of reality, and that it lacked a strong storyline. The film jumped from story to story without really getting anywhere, and the portrayal of the lives of its characters seemed a little far-fetched. That being said, I enjoyed this movie because it had a happier theme than previous films that we’ve watched, without real violence or life-threatening conflict, so it was a nice change of pace.
I think the movie was lighthearted, and somewhat informative. Though it didn’t show the relationship between the employers and the helpers I think the film did an ok job in giving a peek into the lifestyle of a helper. The film highlighted how difficult it is to escape the cycle of servitude since for some women that’s all they could do. The movie was disjointed at parts and so character development is limited. Also, you’ll have to fill in the blanks for some bits sine all the explanations arent just thrown at you. However, I dont think it would be a waste watching the film. Watch it with company, and if you can, subtitles.
As stated above, the film was a little difficult to understand. For me, the accents and the speed of speech made it difficult to recognize many words, which contributed to an overall general misunderstanding of the movie; however, I did enjoy seeing the different perceptions and lives of various maids, and I also found humor in some scenes. It was interesting to see how it was generally expected for these women to become maids rather than be able to choose a personal career path.
I enjoyed watching this film a lot! The film doesn’t have any complicated or surprising plot, but instead follows the day-to-day lives of ordinary maids in Brazil. You get to see the life of the people that society tends to forget the most about. If you’re watching this film to try to learn Portuguese, I would advise you to use subtitles because the characters can be hard to understand. My favorite character was Raimunda. If you see the film, then you’ll see why.
This movie did a great job dealing with a serious life struggle in a humorous way. I really enjoyed learning about a different side of Brazil than the upper class we see in “Meu Nome é Johnny”. I recommend the movie if you want to learn more about the disparities in Brazil in a light, fun way.