As Boas Maneiras

Partager :

Note of intent

A human being’s metamorphosis into a wolf is known as lycanthropy and there are accounts of it dating back to the Greek mythology. The theme is found in ancient tales all over the world. In Brazil, the werewolf is a part of folklore and every region has a different version for its story. Literature and film have also depicted the story of the child who, when abandoned by society, is raised by and among wolves, thus developing a balance between the wild world and civilization. In Good Manners we intend to portray the contradictions between these two forms and tell the story of a wild beast that, like an ordinary baby, is submitted to man’s manners. It’s also a twisted story about motherhood: Clara’s love and desire to raise the baby wolf does not come from the baby’s human aspects. It is the child’s wild nature that appeals to her. We wish to present the story as a horror fable. We also focus on the other transformation that permeates and gives meaning to the film: Clara’s transition from nurse and babysitter to a mother. The film is set in the city of São Paulo. Our intention is to contrast the rough, over-realistic environment of this modern city with the fantastic elements of the story. The visible social contradictions in every aspect of daily life in this city are also depicted in the story. The first part takes place in the central, richer area of the city. Ana, the child’s mother, and Clara, its nanny, come from opposite worlds before they meet. After the baby is born, Clara has to return with it to her place in the suburbs and the film adopts a different setting and tone.

Synopsis

Ana’s attempts to have her first baby completely on her own and away from her hometown don’t seem to be going well. She tries to take care of the flat she rents in central São Paulo, attend her medical appointments and everything else on her own, but eventually gives up and puts up a discrete ad for an assistant and nanny for the upcoming baby.
After many failed interviews, Ana meets Clara, a woman from the suburbs of the city who holds a degree as a nurse. In need of money, she is drawn to a job announcement that doesn’t interest any of her colleagues – the full-time care of a single pregnant woman. Clara and Ana have an instant connection.
Clara takes the job and moves from her suburban neighborhood to Ana’s flat downtown. Although the relationship between the two is mainly professional in the beginning, they soon realize they have similar personalities and taste for solitude. Clara notices something else in Ana: fear. Her pregnancy is not a safe one, and Ana has doubts about going on. One night, Clara hears Ana’s scream: the baby is coming early. Ana dies before Clara’s eyes as her son rips through her body.
It is no ordinary baby. To Clara, he looks a little like a wolf. Her first instinct is to kill it, but she cannot bring herself to do so. She carries it away. Across the town in the middle of the night, Clara goes back home and hides the baby from the world. She figures time will tell her what to do.
As time passes and the child shows traces of a violent behavior, Clara has to learn to see beyond the inhuman features. She has to try to teach the child good manners, and also keep it quiet and hidden: there is a chance they are being chased. The father of the child wants it back.
 

Visual concept

In our short films and in our first feature film, Hard Labor (Trabalhar Cansa), we pursued a delicate balance between realistic narrative and the construction of a suspense atmosphere using genre-related elements. In this second feature film we intend to dive deeper into the horror and fantasy genre. Its aesthetics won’t be so naturalistic: we wish to create a modern fable that pays homage to films that had a big impact on us, such as Disney’s musical fables from the 30’s and 40’s, Charles Laughton’s “Night of the hunter” and the work by directors such as John Carpenter, Romero, Mojica and Walter Hugo Khouri. With this film, we also seek to better understand our own old relation with the horror genre, and at the same time not forget themes that are dear to us: the mother-child relationship, the social gap in the big cities and the nature of love.