How much did our mothers and grandmothers suffer from the patriarchy? How much did they have to hide, supress and ignore to protect us from past abuses?
Karim Ainouz tells, in his emotional tropical melodrama, stories from a time when a woman was expected to be subordinate in every single aspect of her life. Guida and Eurídice, apart from each other, lived outrageous trajectories, and, unfortunately, with expressive scars that lasted until today. The lies of extremally conservative parents, the superb and envy of Eurídice's husband, the suffering in maternity, the crucial solidarity between desperate women - all of it built a strong indignation and, at last, everybody cries in the end: a real tragic one. Fernanda Montenegro is an acting gem.
With technical maestry, Karim's team guides the movie in a raw way. The cinematography of Hélène Louvart is outstanding capturing old, green and dirty Rio de Janeiro. Karim's directing choices are really touching and carry a whole bunch of social issues with flow. The cello and piano from Benedikt Schiefer are as unsettling as the character's obstacles.
I hope that when women (especially older ones) watch this movie, they identify themselves and keep fighting against the male authoritarianism, fighting for freedom.
I hope that when men watch this movie, they identify in themselves traces of sexism to keep changing, to keep evolving and encouraging other ones to be better.
It's definitely an incredible and important movie that answers the questions above with some of the multiple possibilites, multiple realities that exist. It's a must see
