Anyone who is from or has been to Latin America will be familiar with the odd relationship that middle class families have with their live-in maids. Of course, many do not think it odd, however progressive and modern they believe themselves to be, to live with a servant in the 21st century, who they have at their beck and call, servicing their every need. Most of the thousands of new apartment buildings being built today in Lima, Bogotá, or Sao Paulo, where The Second Mother takes place, will still include a shoe box of a room, by the kitchen, for the maid.
"Oh Matilde (or whoever it is) is like part of the family," is one of the most common justifications. It is this same phrase that is used by Bárbara, head of the household in The Second Mother, when Val, her maid of 13 years, tentatively suggests that her daughter, who she hasn't seen for 10 years, wants to visit. 'Of course!' Bárbara says. "You are like family, you've raised my own child!"
Anna Muylaert's debut film quickly sets out to deconstruct the refrain. Bárbara isn't quite as generous as she thinks she is when Val's daughter, Jessica, turns out not to be quite as submissive as her mother. And, not surprisingly, when the feisty yet diffident Jessica turns up, mother and daughter do not share the bond, understanding, and affection that Val expects or wishes.
It is the household's son, Fabinho, the boy the maid raised and now an overgrown teenager, who climbs into Val's bed to talk all night and get his hair stroked. it is Fabinho that seeks reassurance and comfort from Val, who was more present than his own mother, Bárbara. Moreover, Val gets more and more horrified as she discovers that her daughter has ambitions and expectations way above her station. She even mocks her airs and graces with the other, also indignant, maid.
Val is mortified when Jessica suggests to the family that she should stay in the family's guest bedroom, rather than on the floor on her mother's back room. Jessica is likewise critical of her mother's acceptance of living as a second class citizen. Jessica knows that it is her mother's money that paid for her education and has given her these 'airs' but still finds it difficult to forgive her long-absent mother. Meanwhile Fabinho's mother finds herself oddly envious of her maid; she has not only an unparalleded place in her own son's heart, but her maid's own daughter is clearly so much brighter and ambitious than him. "Things are changing," she muses, ambivilently.
Of course the situation cannot but reach a climax as all the characters' sense of self, their role in life and and their place in the world bubble to the surface, and some surprising news provides the ultimate test for the mother-daughter relationship.
The lynchpin of this hugely enjoyable film, is the performance of Regina Casé as Val. Her affection for Fabinho and the way she expresses her attitudes and dilemmas, full of passion and humanity, are highly credible. Through her, important personal and political issues are presented in a digestible and touching way, without trivialising them.
On an emotional level, it is about the complex nature of status, gratitude, acceptance, and, of course, love. At a wider social level, it goes beyond Latin-America's social (and race) relationships, to touch on a global phenomenon where so many poor working women are cleaning for rich families or bringing up their children, in order to school their own children, who they never see. This is something not foreign to the UK.
The Second Mother explains a complex issue in a surprisingly entertaining, humorous, charming way and, perhaps just as importantly, ends on an hopeful note.
The Second Mother is released in the UK on Friday 4th September. For screening info http://www.sodapictures.com/film/the-second-mother/
