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The Best Families

Name: The Best Families
Director: Javier Fuentes-León
Released: 2020
Duration: 105 min

Representation Score

6.4/10

Good

2020

Director

Javier Fuentes-León

Runtime

105 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The Best Families is a sophisticated critique of social stratification. Using an 'upstairs and downstairs' structure, the film exposes the false sense of social integration between domestic workers and the aristocracy. Urban protests disrupt the fragile stability of the upper class. The film excels at exploring the intersection of class, labor, and ethnicity. It goes beyond simple character studies to examine how systemic inequality maintains the moral distance between different socioeconomic groups. While the film offers strong themes around gender and class, it lacks explicit confirmation of specific LGBTQ+ identities or disability representation. The focus remains primarily on the friction between established social hierarchies.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Best Families have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film hints at non-traditional sexual orientations within aristocratic settings, though specific identities are not confirmed. The narrative structure suggests a challenge to conventional family expectations.

How does The Best Families portray gender?

Good

Female characters like Luzmila, Peta, Alicia, and Carmen play key roles in driving the story. The film emphasizes women's ability to lead and make decisions independently of patriarchal control.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Best Families?

Good

The story highlights the racialized aspects of labor within Peruvian society. It centers domestic workers and their interactions with the aristocracy, providing meaningful representation.

How does The Best Families represent religion and culture?

Good

The film critiques the stability of the landed aristocracy through civil unrest. It portrays the existing social order as an unstable, Western-aligned institution.

Does The Best Families include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no evidence of characters with visible or invisible disabilities within the narrative.

Present on Screen

Strong focus on female leadership and ability to act.
Effective critique of class-based social hierarchies and systemic inequality.
Meaningful representation of underrepresented socioeconomic and ethnic groups in Peru.

Limited or Absent

Lack of explicit, confirmed LGBTQ+ character identities.
No visible or invisible disability representation within the cast.
Potential for queer representation remains largely speculative.

Official Synopsis

Luzmila and Peta are two sisters who come from a modest environment and work as housemaids for Alicia and Carmen, two aristocratic ladies of Peru. They are almost considered a part of the families or, at least, that’s what it seems… But one day, as the city is taken over by violent protests, a birthday celebration gathers all the members of both families together. A long-held secret involving both households — upstairs and downstairs — is suddenly revealed, blowing up the bubble of their perfect aristocratic world forever.

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