The Unfinished Business of Brazil’s “New Middle Class”
In a new film, a family runs out of money to build a swimming pool—revealing personal tensions and a society plagued by broken promises.
This article is adapted from AQ’s special report on millennials in politics Owning a pool sounds fun, but few middle-class families manage to enjoy this luxury. The reasons are clear enough: They require high up-front and maintenance costs, not to mention ample yard space. In temperate climates they aren’t even useful year-round. But sometimes common sense isn’t what people care about. In Brazilian director Thais Fujinaga’s debut feature, The Joy of Things, the relentless pursuit of a pool symbolizes one family’s desire to attain middle-class status—and a vision of...
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