Good Manners
Latin American Cinema • 2h 15m
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 Latin American Cinema
-
Hopefuls
Directed by Ives Rosenfeld • Drama • With Ariclenes Barroso, Sérgio Malheiros • 2015 • 74 minutes
“Hopefuls” tells the story of Junior, a young player for Bacaxa A.C, an amateur football team from the city of Saquarema, on the coast of Rio de Janeiro state. He has to deal with the unexpected pre...
-
I am from Chile
Directed by Gonzalo Díaz Ugarte • Drama • With Paulina García, Diego Ruiz, Iván Álvarez de Araya • 2013 • 108 minutes
A coming of age story, I Am From Chile draws from the director’s personal experiences to tell a different kind of immigration story. I Am from Chile is the story of Salvador, who...
-
La Arrancada
Directed by Aldemar Matias • Drama • With Jenniffer Lamoth Rodrigues, Marbelis Rodriguez Lamoth • 2019 • 63 minutes
Jenniffer is a young sportswoman questioning her career as a national athlete in Cuba. Her mother, Marbelis, is the tough boss of a public fumigation center in downtown Havana. As ...