April's Daughter

I speak Spanish and the movie is great. Very well done.

28th STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. DAY 2, NOV 9th 2017. Swedish premiere.

‪With good performances overall and an interesting plot, the film works well as an exploration of family relations, manipulation and betrayal.‬

‪‪The fifth feature film from Mexican writer-director Michel Franco, "April's Daughter" (2017) was shot in Puerto Vallarta and Mexico City. Actors Emma Suárez, Ana Valeria Becrril, Enrique Arrizon and Joanna Larequi has a believable chemistry. Thematically powerful.‬

Some parents are on the bossy side. Valeria, 17 and pregnant, dreads this about her mother, April. She does not want judgments about the baby or her carefree Puerto Vallarta beach lifestyle. Yet motherhood soon overwhelms Valeria, who cries as much as her newborn, and she and her feckless boyfriend quickly change their minds about having April around. Things come full circle again when Valeria realizes the shocking conditions that come with April's care and attention. "We demand too much of women," said the writer/director. "They are judged more severely than men when they make a mistake." The film explores this double standard imposed upon women as well as some of the things that make their lives more complicated and intriguing. The bold moves, zest and determination essential to April's character are played wonderfully by Emma Suarez. A nail-biting tension is maintained throughout the film. Characters are properly balanced, just as there is no good or evil in the world, just people and life. In other words, nothing is black and white. The film relies on ambient sound, such as soothing ocean waves. "Music demands a role of its own," maintains the director, and he did not want it to distract from the points he makes in the film. Selected for the Cannes and Toronto festivals. Seen at the Miami Film Festival.

The presentation of the subject was way worse than an episode of 16 and pregnant and we know how bad that other show is.

Just watch the body language. I speak English primarily. My reading comprehension of Spanish stands far higher than my verbal comprehension. I understood this film also by the tone of the voices. So much was communicated even without my lack of fluency in Spanish.

A real story with a troubled mother and two daughters who don't need her.

This film would convince many daughters to sever contact with their mothers. April represents treachery, insanity, and deceit. It's awful when a woman gets betrayed by someone close to her but a loving mother wouldn't consider what April does. Valeria's older sister and boyfriend are useless!!!

Sometimes people need to stay gone from our lives.