Website design By BotEap.com“Alicia’s House” is an extraordinary Brazilian film that is brilliantly conceived and well worth seeing. This kitchen drama is a refreshingly naturalistic look at a middle-class urban family from São Paulo thrown into turmoil 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 searches for release and romance.

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

Website design By BotEap.comAt home, men pay little attention to Alice, while at work she leads an attractive life. The warm atmosphere of the beauty salon offers hope, while the cramped life of her apartment suffocates her with narcissistic nonchalance. With co-workers and clients, she can tell jokes, have drinks after work, and commiserate for wanting better.

Website design By BotEap.comEveryone in Alice’s world has a secret: her husband has developed a passion for underage girls; one of her sons is a gay con man, another is a petty thief, and the youngest is tormented by his sexual arousal, 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 she develops her own secret life.

Website design By BotEap.comDirector Chico Teixeira creates a very detailed world for these characters in both their emotional and physical worlds. By the end of the film, one can not only describe Alice’s small apartment, but also the needs and wants of each and every character. The film also offers a look at Brazil’s unassuming culture and casual approach to sex, at least among the middle class. Sex, love, romance are the forces in this story and even the grandmother finds solace in the voice of a radio announcer. Her quest is to be a winner on her call show.

Website design By BotEap.comNavigating this story may take a bit of effort, as there is no music to guide you through your sensibilities. Therefore, the judgments you reach are likely to be your own. This makes Carla Ribas’s performance in the title role even more remarkable. Her range represents a myriad of emotions that drive the story through her innocent flirtations, dramatic entanglements, and harsh consequences. Teixeira, the director, uses silence to focus on this inner turmoil. There is a scene where Alice can’t sleep and goes out on the balcony to calm her nerves. Her mother (Berta Zemel) comes out and stands next to her, not speaking, but relating. It is a moving scene where her mother, although she goes blind, ironically sees and feels everything that her daughter endures. Just being there, that’s enough.

Website design By BotEap.comOn filming without using dialogue, the director said, “I discovered that the body speaks for itself, like a dance. I learned that bodies speak a lot.”

Website design By BotEap.comProduced with limited resources, “Alice’s House” is an extraordinary film, unique and inventive in many ways. It tackles a variety of disappointments along with the tragedy of a woman tied to family, but yearns to break free from the boredom and monotony of her life. Despite the trials she faces, she has the optimism and resilience to make us cheer for her happiness. The handheld camera gracefully finds those moments of realization, reflection and hope contrasted with pain.

Website design By BotEap.comCarla Ribas is a theater actress who started acting at the age of 35 and won the role on the recommendation of famous theater coach and casting director Fátima Toledo. It is Carla’s first film role, one that has already garnered her numerous awards as well as industry-wide recognition. The excellent cast also hits the mark. Prior to production, they worked together for three months under the tutelage of Fátima Toledo. The actors never saw the script, but instead took their lines from the Fatima performances.

Website design By BotEap.comCelebrated documentary filmmaker Tico Teixeira is praised for his ability to make his subjects open up about their innermost feelings. This experience is most evident in “Alice’s House,” his award-winning first feature film, an extraordinarily insightful film well worth seeing.

Website design By BotEap.comCREDITS: Directed by Chico Teixeira “Alicia’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 Min. In Portuguese with English subtitles, Unrated. Available on DVD.