Trabalhar cansa

Die Hausfrau Helena erfüllt sich einen lang gehegten Wunsch und eröfnet in der Großstadt São Paulo einen kleinen Lebensmittelladen. Als jedoch ihr Mann arbeitslos wird, wächst der ökonomische Druck und ihr Vorhaben schlägt in einen Albtraum um. Lebensmittel beginnen zu bluten und durch den Boden quillt Abwasser voller Würmer. Neben diesen mysteriösen Spuren, die ihr Geschäft heim- suchen und auf ein schreckliches Unheil hinweisen, findet sie schließlich hinter einer Wand ein grauenvolles Geheimnis, das für all ihre Probleme verantwortlich sein könnte. Der Film ist ein früher Beitrag des neuen, jungen brasilianischen Horrorfilms. (Martin Schlesinger)

After a successful career in short films, writer-director duo Marco Dutra and Juliana Rojas teamed up with celebrated Brazilian producer Sara Silveira to make their critically acclaimed debut film TRABALHAR CANSA. Young housewife Helena is on the verge of fulfilling a dream as she prepares to open her own business: a neighborhood grocery store. She hires a maid to take care of her house and daughter, but when her husband Otávio is suddenly fired from his job as an insurance executive, Helena is left to support the family alone. As Otávio fails to find work and becomes increasingly alienated, her business struggles to take of and the pressure on Helena mounts. To make things worse, she discovers that one of the building’s brick walls seems to be crumbling. Helena begins to wonder if the mystery behind the wall may be the cause of all her problems. This middle-class political fable wrapped in horror elements has been described as “THE SHINING meets a Vittorio De Sica film”: an enigmatic film built on atmosphere that explores the characters’ social roles to portray a certain malaise as a symptom of the world. (Gustavo Beck)