A felicidade das coisas – Mercedes Martinez Abarca

Do material possessions provide joy or do they, like knowledge and wisdom, bring sorrow? Perhaps Paula puts all her savings and efforts into a swimming pool because this where her hopes of a better life and of a quiet vacation together with her family are. Still, the men in the household − an absent, carefree husband and a pre-adolescent son yearning to escape from under his mother’s wings − appear to boycott Paula’s aspirations.

Like so many mothers all around the world, Paula is devoted and courageous but trapped in an unwanted situation. She needs to be herself again –  not a mother, not a daughter, not a wife, not a tireless fighter in charge of her household – just herself. Even if only for a brief moment, she would rather be alone in a boat at sea, surrounded by whales. And who wouldn’t?

At IFFR we first became acquainted with Thais Fujinaga as the scriptwriter of Marília Rocha’s Tiger contender, A cidade onde envelheço, so we already knew that she was capable of writing a beautiful, sensitive and universal story. Now we can confirm that she can also bring such stories to the big screen with the same subtlety, delicacy and understanding.

Written by Mercedes Martinez Abarca