Good Manners

A genre-torn film that starts a new interesting topic every so often, but soon replaces it with another one or sweeps it off the table with a twist of the story without being able to use it properly. On the other hand, this results in at least the pleasant unpredictability of the story. It is very non-standard horror, although it does not deny its roots in genre classics and traditional motifs - but it is more of a social horror, which does not even act as a horror film for ninety percent of the run time and is in fact mostly not even filmed as a horror. Maybe that's why some of its purely horror or bloody scenes are inadvertently funny, although in the context of everything around them, they are actually extremely impressive at the same time. In addition, the tempo of storytelling is well drawn-out, and the film tries to start more and more different ideas over time, but not all of them can lead to a satisfactory completion. However, a few scenes are etched into your memory easily and for a long time. (03/07/2018)

Very interesting and original addition to the werewolf genre. I would call it a horror only because of the theme - the film practically gave up trying to scare the viewer and focused mainly on the story, which I do not consider negative in this case. There are a few explicitly horror moments here, but it is only a light seasoning in an otherwise predominantly dramatic story about family, love, and neighborly relationships. Good manners are beautifully filmed - the film combines a dreamy atmosphere with a setting in modern, sometimes even futuristic-looking, Sao Paulo - and last but not least, it is excellently acted. Although most of the visual effects are created using CGI, they achieve high quality - especially the werewolf youth looked amazingly impressive and realistic. The story is divided into two parts - I enjoyed the first one more, in which the film slowly wraps you around its finger through a gradual build-up of tension and playing with the viewer's expectations, who ponders where the story will evolve. Most films might end right after the culmination of this storyline, but that did not happen here, and an unexpectedly literal continuation of the story, which began in the first half, came next. The tone practically completely changed - from a minimalist horror drama, it evolved into a social fantasy. I found the second half not as enjoyable as the first, but there are also significant moments in it. Good manners have a truly brutal running time and could definitely be cut down, but I have no issue with the final cut. I willingly dedicated my time to this ambitious and unique film and it managed to hold my attention even in its slower second half. It may not be An American Werewolf in London, but Good Manners will certainly leave its mark in the werewolf genre. BTW: I definitely do not recommend this film to pregnant women with weaker nerves - some scenes could be quite harsh for them and undoubtedly linger in their memory for a longer period, which could have adverse consequences during their pregnancy. (29/06/2018)

The Brazilian-French-German production Good Manners has a long running time, although I do not think it is unnecessarily long. The relationship between the two women is important in the movie's first half. In the second half, the focus is on what happened after the birth and beyond. It has some very good ideas, and it is filmed in a way that suits the narrative. I am usually not a big fan of the slow pace yet this movie succeeds in surprising you, and it is, therefore, a very interesting movie. (04/11/2019)