She Comes Back on Thursday

Unusual and refreshing voice in Brazilian cinema, in which the influence of Asian Masters shines through. Scenes from the everyday life of a black middle-class family that is turned upside down when, after 35 years, the marriage of the parents is threatening to break up. Played by the maker’s family. 　　A fictional story wrested from reality. Maria José and Norberto have seen enough of each other after 35 years of marriage. Maria José goes on a journey to find herself; Norberto is having an affair that isn’t going well. Their sons André and Nato watch all of this with disappointment, and meanwhile have their own relationship problems. 　　Just as he did in his previous short films Ghosts and About a Month, André Novais Oliveira asked people from his direct surroundings to play themselves, more or less. In this case: his parents and brother. Maria José, Norberto, André and Nato are their real names, as are the names of the actors in most of the secondary roles. 　　And yet it’s fiction. In his own words, Novais Oliveira wanted ‘to taint with life what was written on paper’. He succeeds in this: in his calmly shot film, with a striking role for musical intermezzos, the whole of human life unfolds.