The five siblings live together with their father and grandmother in a house in Brazil. The mother has disappeared and the only thing that remains of her are video recordings in which she can be seen together with the children and in whose flashbacks it sometimes seems as if all was still right with the world.
One morning, when there were a pair of “new” shoes for each child on the doorstep, the father suspects that they were probably brought in by the mother during the night. Without further ado, he sets off to look for his partner. However, he does not return either and so the children are more or less left to their own devices.
Life with the grandmother is quite special. She firmly believes that the devil will come if you are not careful enough or do not follow certain rules. This strong belief is also reflected in the entire structure of the family. For example, the children are not allowed to leave the property, all the windows are covered with newspapers and bags so that nobody can really look in or out, and there are a large number of flypapers on the ceiling of the grandmother’s room.
On the whole, the children come to terms with and accept their living situation, but they also have certain rebellious or exploratory traits here and there.
One of the older daughters repeatedly sticks her arm out through a small hole in the wall, where she has previously removed a brick from the wall, presumably to feel a touch of freedom. One of the sons goes a whole step further here and removes several of the bricks to get to freedom. One day, the children even organize an elaborate plan to steal the key from their grandmother so that they can play on the street in freedom, but this has unexpected consequences. One night, the children hear loud noises coming from the door. Worried that someone is trying to break into the apartment, one of the children ends up calling the police. When the police arrive and gain an insight into the children’s living situation and the information regarding the parents’ whereabouts seems a little vague, an announced visit from the youth welfare office follows shortly afterwards. In the hope that the family construct will not fall apart any further, the children come up with a new plan and work together to ensure that at least the apartment appears to be in perfect condition. They also try to invent a congruent story about the whereabouts of their parents in the hope that they will be left alone and can stay together.
Conclusion:
I found it a little difficult to get into the story. During the course of the movie, the flashbacks in the form of the old video recordings helped me to gain a deeper insight into what happened. But a lot also remains in the dark. We don’t know exactly why the mother disappeared, there is no further question as to when the father will return and, above all, we don’t find out the background to why the mother believes so much in the devil. On the other hand, the movie leaves a lot of room for your own interpretation of how the situation came about and how it might be resolved.
Actors:
Mariapau Bravo Aviña (Elsa)
Rafael Nieto Martínez (Tomás)
Regina Alejandra (Marisol)
Donovan Said (Víctor)
Laura Uribe Rojas (Vanessa)
Carmen Ramos (Romana)
Bernardo Gamboa (Emiliano)
Micaela Gramajo (Judith)
Director:
Ernesto Martínez Bucio
About the movie:
https://www.berlinale.de/en/2025/programme/202505986.html
