Teen's Confessions

Four sisters, Maria Mariana, Cissa, Carol and the youngest, live in the same house. The family has to move to another neighbourhood, and the girls learn it stems from a dispute with the landlord. They decide to find the rent themselves and save the house. They try to find work, try to save money, and each wrestles with her own matter: first love, pressure at school, jealousy. As the plan goes on the bond between the sisters is both strained and strengthened. Daniel Filho directs with Cris D'Amato. Sophia Abrahao, Bella Camero, Malu Rodrigues and Clara Tiezzi are in the cast. It is a Brazilian production. The film rests on the diaries of Maria Mariana; the same material had already become a stage play in the nineties and then a television series. The actresses who played the sisters in the nineties series return in the film in different roles. The matter it treats is sisters solving a problem together; the house issue stays in the background and the real interest is in the girls' daily life. The film aims at a young audience and keeps its tone light. The narrative gives each sister something like her own section of time. The music and period references aim at reaching a wide audience. The film did well at the Brazilian box office. The ending closes with the house saved. Its limit is depth; the narrative is shallow, the conflicts resolve fast, and the characters are types. Who it is for: viewers who like Brazilian teen comedy and family films. Who it is not for: it is shallow, predictable, and the ending easy.