Given how weird this film is, I'm a bit surprised that there's no review about "Good Manners" yet. Horror titles usually get a good deal of attention but perhaps this is an indicator of just how unique this one is.
The story seems straightforward enough at first: Impoverished Lesbian black nurse Clara gets hired by affluent yet unemployed white pregnant Ana - this in spite of giving her landlady as her only reference, who promptly tells her she's being owed rent. However, Clara's touch calms down the kicking baby, so Ana instinctively hires her - and soon their relationship gets very close. However, Ana's behavior becomes increasingly erratic as her pregnancy advances, culminating in... well, among other things, singing. Yup, it's a musical, too.
I've seen a lot of genre movies and it's the rarest of the rare when one of the formulas is injected with something new. Horror often serves as social parables for the exclusion of the different, but here, you will find yourselves drowned in references and allusions, from queer bashing over solitary motherhood to race issues. There's so much to handle that it might be best to not try and process it all, and just abandon oneself to the beautiful weirdness of this film.
Of course, a limited budget limits the scare of the CGI, you got to be open-minded about that. The emotional turmoil makes more than up for this as Isabél Zuaa's performance carries the film from the first shot. The script should have been tighter as it takes enormous leaps and then slows down. I'd recommend watching this late at night, with close friends who are into weird stuff, and after a few joints or drinks.
The story seems straightforward enough at first: Impoverished Lesbian black nurse Clara gets hired by affluent yet unemployed white pregnant Ana - this in spite of giving her landlady as her only reference, who promptly tells her she's being owed rent. However, Clara's touch calms down the kicking baby, so Ana instinctively hires her - and soon their relationship gets very close. However, Ana's behavior becomes increasingly erratic as her pregnancy advances, culminating in... well, among other things, singing. Yup, it's a musical, too.
I've seen a lot of genre movies and it's the rarest of the rare when one of the formulas is injected with something new. Horror often serves as social parables for the exclusion of the different, but here, you will find yourselves drowned in references and allusions, from queer bashing over solitary motherhood to race issues. There's so much to handle that it might be best to not try and process it all, and just abandon oneself to the beautiful weirdness of this film.
Of course, a limited budget limits the scare of the CGI, you got to be open-minded about that. The emotional turmoil makes more than up for this as Isabél Zuaa's performance carries the film from the first shot. The script should have been tighter as it takes enormous leaps and then slows down. I'd recommend watching this late at night, with close friends who are into weird stuff, and after a few joints or drinks.