Malu

Play trailer

Malu

2024

1h 43m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

9 Reviews

Popcornmeter

0 Ratings

Malu, a 50-year-old unemployed actress living off memories of her glorious past, shares a run-down home in a Rio de Janeiro slum with her conservative mother and has a troubled relationship with her own daughter.

David Ehrlich

IndieWire

04/09/2024

B+

It’s only because of this movie’s naked honesty and the unsparing gravity of its supernova lead performance that Freire is able to afford his mother the star vehicle she was never given the chance to act in, nor will ever get the chance to see.

Go to Full Review

Carlos Aguilar

Variety

01/28/2024

Lived in to the point that it becomes difficult to perceive it as a calculated representation and not raw truth, what the superb De Novaes does with this acting feat is at once electric and monstrous.

Go to Full Review

Drew Gregory

Autostraddle

01/23/2024

This is a remarkable film — a work of urgency, a work of compassion, a work of love.

Go to Full Review

Amber Wilkinson

Eye for Film

03/25/2024

4/5

Freire captures not just the emotional but physical force of these relationships, with the women coming to blows, their acts of cruelty to one another as powerful as their acts of love.

Go to Full Review

Louisa Moore

Screen Zealots

03/06/2024

There’s a bohemian, free spirited energy to the film that pairs well with the script, and Freire pens some sassy and funny dialogue that’s boosted by excellent performances from the cast.

Go to Full Review

Frank J. Avella

Edge Media Network

02/01/2024

A-

Pedro Freire makes an auspicious feature film debut with "Malu," a most stirring and wholly believable depiction of past family trauma and how it manifests generationally...

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Pedro Freire

Director

Yara de Novaes

Malu

Juliana Carneiro da Cunha

Lili

Carol Duarte

Joana

Átila Bee

Tibira

Márcio Vito

Padre

Scrap

98%

99%

Scrap

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Scrap

Little Women

95%

92%

Little Women

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Little Women

In Our Day

100%

%

In Our Day

Watchlist

The Quiet Girl

97%

93%

The Quiet Girl

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Quiet Girl

Aftersun

96%

81%

Aftersun

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Aftersun

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Malu, a 50-year-old unemployed actress living off memories of her glorious past, shares a run-down home in a Rio de Janeiro slum with her conservative mother and has a troubled relationship with her own daughter.

Director: Pedro Freire
Producer: Roberto Berliner, Sabrina García, Tatiana Leite, Leo Ribeiro
Screenwriter: Pedro Freire
Production Co: TVZero, Bubbles Project
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Brazilian Portuguese
Runtime: 1h 43m