Films Zine Library About Sign in
← Back
The Second Mother
2015 1h 52m Anna Muylaert

The Second Mother

★ 7.8 IMDb
Drama Comedy
After leaving her daughter Jessica in a small town in Pernambuco to be raised by relatives, Val spends the next 13 years working as a nanny to Fabinho in São Paulo. She has financial stability but has to live with the guilt of having not raised Jessica herself. As Fabinho’s university entrance exams approach, Jessica reappears in her life and seems to want to give her mother a second chance. However, Jessica has not been raised to be a servant and her very existence will turn Val’s routine on its head. With precision and humour, the subtle and powerful forces that keep rigid class structures in place and how the youth may just be the ones to shake it all up.
WriterAnna Muylaert

Essays and Criticism
On this film
In conversation with other films
Now Streaming
Awards & Festivals
Nominated International Submission to the Academy Awards
Won Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award
Watch together with Nous — swipe, match, never argue about movie night again.