Movie review – "Alicia’s house" It is an extraordinary Brazilian film brilliantly conceived and interpreted

“Alice’s House” is an extraordinary Brazilian film brilliantly conceived and well worth watching. This cooking drama is a refreshing naturalistic look at a middle-class urban family from São Paulo, thrown into confusion by sexual and emotional betrayal. The ever-resonant Carla Ribas in the title role takes us on an arduous journey in which she is repeatedly rejected as she seeks liberation and romance.

The story revolves around the forty-something Alice who works as a manicurist in a beauty salon. She shares a flat on the outskirts of the city with her mother, Mrs. Jacira, her husband, Lindomar, a taxi driver, and her three children, Lucas, Edinho and Junior. The film is about the everyday life of a woman in which she alludes to herself and makes the same mistakes repeatedly. With your little actions, intimate insights, and daily frustrations, nothing is safe in this emotional void. It is a fragile family, which could deteriorate and break at any moment.

At home, men pay little attention to Alice, while at work she lives an attractive life. The warm atmosphere of the beauty salon offers hope, while his cramped apartment suffocates him with narcissistic nonchalance. With coworkers and clients, you can tell jokes, have drinks after work, and sympathize with wanting better.

Everyone in Alice’s world has a secret: her husband has developed a passion for underage girls; one of his sons is a gay con man, another is a petty thief, and the youngest is tormented by his sexual arousals, while his elderly mother is slowly going blind. Even her clients have secrets and soon Alice succumbs to the same sexual intrigue and deception and develops a secret life of her own.

Director Chico Teixeira creates a very detailed world for these characters in both their emotional and physical world. At the end of the film, one can not only describe Alice’s cramped apartment, but also the wishes and desires of each and every character. The film also offers a look at the unassuming culture of Brazil and its informal approach to sex, at least among the middle class. Sex, love, romance are the forces of this story and even the grandmother finds comfort in the voice of a radio show host. Her quest is to be a winner in her calling show.

Navigating this story may take some effort, as there is no music to guide you through your sensibilities. Therefore, it is likely that the judgments you reach will be yours. This makes Carla Ribas’s performance in the title role even more remarkable. His range describes a myriad of emotions that the story propels through its innocent flirtations, dramatic entanglements and its harsh consequences. Teixeira, the director, uses silence to focus on this inner turmoil. There is a scene where Alice cannot sleep and goes out onto the balcony to calm her nerves. His mother (Berta Zemel) comes out and stays by his side without speaking or relating. It is a moving scene where the mother, although blind, ironically sees and feels everything that her daughter endures. Just being there is enough.

When shooting without using dialogue, the director said: “I discovered that the body speaks for itself, like a dance. I learned that the bodies speak a lot.”

Produced with limited resources, “Alice’s House” is an extraordinary film, unique and inventive in many ways. It addresses a variety of deceptions along with the tragedy of a woman tied to the family, but yearning to be freed from the boredom and monotony of her life. Despite the trials you face, you have the optimism and stamina to make us encourage your happiness. The handheld camera gracefully finds those moments of fulfillment, reflection and hope in contrast to pain.

Carla Ribas is a stage actress who started acting at the age of 35 and won the role following the recommendations of the famous theater coach and casting director Fatima Toledo. It’s Carla’s first feature film role, one that has already garnered her numerous awards in addition to industry-wide recognition. The excellent ensemble cast is also right. Before production, they worked together for three months under the tutelage of Fatima Toledo. The actors never saw the script, but instead took their lines from the performances of Fatima.

A celebrated documentary maker, Tico Teixeira, is praised for his ability to get his subjects to open up about their innermost feelings. This experience is most evident in “Alice’s House”, his award-winning first feature film, an extraordinarily revealing film well worth watching.

CREDITS: Directed by Chico Teixeira “Alice’s House” starring Carla Ribas, Berta Zemel, Zecarlos Machado, Luciano Quirino, Renata Zhaneta, Vinicius Zinn, Ricardo Vilaca, Felipe Massuia and Mariana Leighton. Screenplay by Chico Teixeira, Julio Pessoa, Sabina Anzuategui and Marcelo Gomes. Director of photography; Mauro Pinheiro Jr. 92 Minutes. In Portuguese with English subtitles, unclassified. Available on DVD.

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