My Mom Is a Character

"And you still thought that mothers were all the same."

2013 1h 24m PT

🙌

7.7

BANGER

★7.7TMDB · 689

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After another spat with her kids, Dona Hermínia decides to take some time off from them and hides away in her aunt's house, where she reminisces about her kids in an age when they still needed her.

“And you still thought that mothers were all the same.”

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Cast

Paulo Gustavo
Dona Hermínia
Mariana Xavier
Marcelina
Rodrigo Pandolfo
Juliano
Herson Capri
Carlos Alberto
Alexandra Richter
Iesa
Suely Franco
Tia Zélia
Ingrid Guimarães
Soraya
Samantha Schmütz
Waldeia

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: André Pellenz
Writers: Paulo Gustavo, Rafael Dragaud, Fil Braz
Languages: Portuguese
Countries: Brazil

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

84 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $21M — a 10.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "My Mom is a Character Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by André Pellenz, shot by Nonato Estrela. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Marcelo Moraes shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Paulo Gustavo and Mariana Xavier and Rodrigo Pandolfo carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

André Pellenz directs. Nonato Estrela behind the camera. Marcelo Moraes cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Brazil. Dialogue in Portuguese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

184 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Grossed $21M — a 10.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
4Released 13 years ago.
5Part of the "My Mom is a Character Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by André Pellenz, shot by Nonato Estrela. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Editor Marcelo Moraes shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Paulo Gustavo and Mariana Xavier and Rodrigo Pandolfo carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "And you still thought that mothers were all the same.".
10IMDB entry: tt2464018 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Nonato Estrela
Editing: Marcelo Moraes
Runtime: 84 min · 1h 24m
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Box office: $20,552,094
Return: 1028% of budget
Original language: PT
Certification (US): 12
IMDB: My Mom Is a Character (2013)

Part of

My Mom is a Character Collection

Minha Mãe é uma Peça is a Brazilian comedy film directed by André Pellenz and César Rodrigues, starring Paulo Gustavo, and written by him in partnership with Fil Braz. The film is based on the play of the same name created and starred by Paulo Gustavo. The cast of the film version is also composed by Ingrid Guimarães, Herson Capri, Suely Franco, Monica Martelli, Samantha Schmütz and Alexandra Richter.