People’s identities and sense of purpose are often connected to the work they thrive in, but they often feel restricted when society prevents them from further expanding their skills. The best way they can fight back against the injustices and limitations placed upon them is to prove their worth, and readily not back down and appease those who strive to oppress them. Brazilian writer-director Anna Muylaert elegantly worked to emphasize the inequalities that still plague domestic workers in her culture in her upcoming drama, ‘The Second Mother,’ which is set to be released on Friday in select theaters. The filmmaker was captivating driven to showcase the discrepancies between the classes in her country, particularly after she became a mother herself, and fully started to grasp how nannies often don’t receive the respect they deserve for caring for their employers’ children.
‘The Second Mother’ follows the hard-working Val (Regina Casé), a maid who has worked for a married couple, Barbara (Karine Teles) and Carlos (Lourenco Mutarelli), in their Sao Paulo home since their teenage son, Fabinho (Michel Joelsas), was a young boy. Val has long been the true maternal figure in the teen’s life, as Barbara is a hard-working, successful career woman, and her husband frequently indulges in his inherited wealth and art. As Fabinho begins preparing for his university entrance exams, Val receives an unexpected phone call from her estranged biological daughter, Jéssica (Camila Márdila), whom she hasn’t seen in a decade.
The progressive Jéssica, who’s the same age as Fabinho, is also preparing for her college exams. She wants to travel to see her mother, and apply for schools in the city. Jéssica has lived with her father on the other side of Brazil during her adolescence, and it’s revealed he’s no longer speaking to her or her moth. While Val is initially ecstatic to finally see her daughter again, and happily makes sacrifices to accommodate her, the joy in their reunion is short-lived. To Barbara, Fabinho and especially Val’s horror, the newly arrived young adult doesn’t show any regard for the rules of the house, and even eats with the family and swims in their pool. Her reckless behavior soon exposes the countless ways Val is marginalized by her employers, even though she doesn’t recognize them. While Carlos has become drawn to Jéssica, the rest of the house has to learn to contend with the many shocking changes the teen has brought with her during her stay.
Muylaert took the time recently to talk about writing and directing ‘The Second Mother’ over the phone. Among other things, the filmmaker discussed how she was initially driven to pen the script when her own son was born 20 years ago, and how in her commitment to motherhood, she wanted to show how some parents in her native Brazil rely too heavily on their nannies; how she immediately wanted to cast Casé in the role of Val, as she understood the character’s emotions and motives, as well as the issues of nannies being the primary caregiver for their employers’ children; and how audiences who have already seen the drama at film festivals around the world have embraced the characters’ humanity, as well as the power of the politics and social issues that were examined throughout the story.
ShockYa (SY): You wrote the script for the new drama, ‘The Second Mother.’ Since the drama has been a passion project of yours since the beginning of your career, when you released your first writing and directing effort, the 2002 musical comedy-drama, ‘Durval Records,’ what was the process of developing the story for the drama?
(AM): Well, I started to work on this project right after I had my first son 20 years ago. I really felt the commitment to motherhood. At that point in Brazil, everyone had nannies. I thought with the nanny character in the film, I could show the paradoxes of my country and its culture.
SY: Like several of your earlier films, including the 2009 romantic drama ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,’ you both wrote and directed ‘The Second Mother.’ Why do you prefer to pen the scripts for the movies that you direct? How does writing the screenplay influence your directorial duties?
AM: I’ve always wanted to direct; that was my goal since I was in school. But when I left school in 1985, there wasn’t any cinema in Brazil. But I have always written about my life, and have understood that the directors I love also write. So I wanted to be that kind of director.
I eventually started writing for other people for many years, which was good. That was good, because I could stay home and play with my kids. But I’ve always wanted to direct-it has always been my priority.
SY: How has being a mother yourself influenced the way mothers and daughters and their relationships are showcased in your films?
AM: Well, not only has being a mother influenced my movies, but so has being a woman. I prefer directing in a gentle way. The way I take care of my characters is gentle. I always treat my cast and crew well, and invite them to collaborate. I try not to be the authority, and don’t give orders while we’re filming. I give them an invitation to participate, and that’s the way I have raised my kids, too.
SY: Regina Casé and Camila Márdila play Val and her daughter, Jéssica, in ‘The Second Mother.’ What was the casting process like for Regina and Camila-how decide to cast them in their respective roles?
AM: Well, I’ve always wanted to work with Regina, because I think she’s one of the greatest actresses. She was in a film that I loved called ‘Me You Them.’ I sent her the script for ‘The Second Mother’ many years ago, and right away, she said, “I want to do your film.” So I never thought of any other actress for the role than her, because she’s great. She also really knows the subject, like I do.
After choosing her, I decided that all of the other actors who would be in the film wouldn’t be famous. The next person I cast was Lourenço Mutarelli, because I always have a role for him in my films. I like the way he collaborates on his characters.
Then with Camila, I didn’t know her acting, so we did a lot of tests with her. In the beginning, I wanted to cast a girl with darker skin, so I rejected her. But my casting director, Patricia Faria, insisted that we cast her. We had many discussions, during which she convinced me to cast Camila.
Then with Michel, I previously worked with him when he was about nine. He was in a film I wrote, called ‘The Year My Parents Went on Vacation,’ so I decided to work with him again.
SY: Since Val and Jéssica are estranged throughout the drama, did you have any rehearsal time with Regina and Camila before you began filming? Or did you allow their relationship to naturally develop on the set as you were shooting the drama?
AM: We did rehearse with all of the actors for a few weeks, but Regina only rehearsed for one week. I always make a big project out of my rehearsals on every film that I do. I try to reinvent my methods to fit each actor and their character, in order to reach certain emotions.
I rarely do any rehearsals of, or block, scenes. But I like to discuss the origin of the characters, as well as the relationships between them. I did rehearsals for when Fabinho was small, and then as he grew up. We also discussed the first day Val arrived at the house, and then Bárbara explaining everything to her.
But the big rehearsals were between Val and Jéssica, as the two actresses didn’t know each other before we began filming. So I put up a big black sheet to divide the room. Then I spent an entire afternoon with each actress on each side of the screen, and they were talking over the phone, as if they had known each other for 10 years. So I had two scripts that were different; one was for Val, and the other was for Jéssica, which created big emotions between them. Then we would block the scenes on the day we shot them. But there was a lot of improvisation in the words.
SY: The drama also showcases the unspoken but fundamental class barriers that exist within the home between Val and her employers, Bárbara and Carlos. Why did you also feel it was important to showcase the barriers between the classes, even though Val has worked for the family for over a decade?
AM: Well, I wanted to showcase that this is something that really happens in Brazil. In one house, you have two classes-the wealthy family and the people who work for them.
SY: ‘The Second Mother’ had its world premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. What was your experience of bringing the movie to the different festivals? What does it mean to you that the drama was embraced by audiences and critics at the festivals?
AM: When we attended Sundance, we didn’t know if people would want to see the film, as it’s such a Brazilian story. But it was great, because they really liked the film, and understand that the story was talking about about our relationships in Brazil. So it was really good that all of the questions from the journalists at the conference were about the characters’ humanity, as well as the quality and power of our relationships, politics and social issues. So I’m really happy that people were talking about those issues.
At the time of the festival, we had distribution in 22 countries, and now it’s up to 25. I’ve also been going to Europe to prepare for the release in France, Spain, Italy and Belgium. In the process, I’ve been getting to know the audiences, and it’s been really great to be so well understood.
SY: Besides ‘The Second Mother,’ do you have any other upcoming projects lined up that you can discuss, whether writing, directing or both?
AM: I actually shot another feature while I was working on the post production of ‘The Second Mother.’ It’s a smaller film, in terms of budget and subject. It’s about identity, as it follows a teenager who has to change his family and his name. It even deals with some gender issues. So it’s a more contemporary film that’s targeted towards younger people.
Written by: Karen Benardello