Directed by Juliana Rojas & Marco Dutra • Drama • With Sabél Zuaa, Marjorie Estiano, Miguel Lobo • 2017 • 135 minutes
Filmmakers Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra’s second collaboration (after the acclaimed Hard Labor) deftly integrates art-house and genre cinema to create a thrilling and dark gothic fable with sharp social commentary.
Set in São Paulo, the film follows Clara, a lonely nurse from the outskirts of the city who is hired by mysterious and wealthy Ana to be the nanny of her soon to be born child. Against all odds, the two women develop a strong bond. But a fateful night marked by a full moon changes their plans.
With powerful visuals and impeccable cinematography by Zama’s Rui Poças, Good Manners is Disney meets Jacques Tourneur. The film becomes an unexpected and wild werewolf movie unlike any other, and a poignant social and racial allegory on modern-day Brazilian society.
“An unnerving werewolf tale that explores themes of motherhood and otherness, sometimes suggesting a retelling of Frankenstein. But with a werewolf. Yet for all the blood and gore, this is a quiet, gentle story…” —Village Voice
“Good Manners” is an ambitious work not only in scope but design, influenced by Jacques Tourneur’s psychological horror noirs.” —Variety
Up Next in Fearless Females
-
Devil in the Flesh (Marco Bellocchio)
Directed by Marco Bellocchio • Drama • With Maruschka Detmers • 1986 • 109 minutes
One of the most controversial Italians films of the '80s, DEVIL IN THE FLESH takes Raymond Radiguet's classic novel and updates it to modern times. Dealing with the legacy of Italy's "leaden years" and the afterma...
-
Blind (Eskil Vogt)
Directed by Eskil Vogt • Drama • With Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Henrik Rafaelsen, Vera Vitali • 2015 • 96 minutes
Ingrid (Ellen Dorrit Pettersen) is a woman contending with the loss of vision. In trying to navigate a world without sight, she spends her days attempting to reconstruct the visual worl...
-
Wendy and Lucy (Kelly Reichardt, w/ M...
Directed by Kelly Reichardt • Drama • With Michelle Williams, Walter Dalton, Will Oldham, John Robinson, Larry Fessenden, Will Patton • 2008 • 80 minutes
Proving why she is one of the most highly-regarded auteurs of current cinema, Kelly Reichardt's (OLD JOY) subtle storytelling technique uses a...
