What Are The Two Surprises?

Almost Family, or Familia, Pero no Mucho, in Portuguese, is a new Brazilian comedy-drama film on Netflix that uses the much-discussed rivalry between Brazilians and Argentines to tell a story of love and trust. The plot follows Otavio, a Brazilian restaurateur who is simply shocked when his daughter, Mariana, expresses her desire to marry an Argentine man, and his woes during the vacation trip to Bariloche as he has to get to know the in-laws better. Overall, Almost Family is a casual comedy film that is not meant to be taken seriously and is fine for a single watch.

Spoiler Alert

What is the Netflix film about?

Almost Family begins in a bustling bar in a Brazilian town, with the owner and manager of the establishment, Otavio, busily running about serving his guests. At a brief moment of respite, Otavio goes looking for his daughter, Mariana, and is told that she has gone to their home, which is right upstairs, for her lunch break. But as Otavio goes to check on her, he finds Mariana playing her violin instead of having her lunch. Mariana’s mother used to play the violin as well, and therefore she fondly reminds Otavio of his beloved deceased wife, which is why he is quite supportive of her passion to pursue music. But deep down, he feels that making a livelihood out of music is perhaps not possible, and he believes that Mariana will soon be joining the family business and taking over the bar someday, and so he has her work as a server at the establishment.

Mariana has very different opinions on the matter, though, as she is somewhat frustrated by the fact that her father expects her to work as a server at the bar, while her stepbrother, Felipinho, is allowed to laze around and pursue his dream of becoming a TikTok star. She is really passionate about music and is equally nervous and excited when she is selected to audition for an illustrious music program in Paris. As the audition is being held in her hometown, and outsiders are allowed to attend as well, Mariana hopes that her family will be present to support and cheer for her. She even prepares to play Vivaldi’s Four Seasons: Summer as a tribute to her late mother, as she used to play it to Otavio all the time. Although Mariana’s ever-supportive stepmother, Joana, and Felipinho attend the audition, Otavio misses out on the event as he is too busy running his bar. 

This makes Mariana even more convinced that her father does not take her passion seriously, and so when she is selected for the program in Paris, she does not think twice before leaving. The suddenness of Mariana’s departure from home and from Brazil gives perspective to Otavio, and he promises to never take his daughter for granted anymore. Thus, when Mariana returns to Brazil three years later, Otavio is extra careful to always be supportive towards her and to express his emotions for her. However, he finds the task to be extremely difficult when Mariana announces that she is in love with an Argentine man and that the family is to travel to Bariloche, in Argentina, to meet with her fiancé and his parents.

How do the fathers-in-law suddenly unite?

For the entirety of the first half of Almost Family, the respective fathers of Mariana and her fiancé, Miguel, keep acting suspiciously with each other, as if intentionally wanting to disrespect each other. There is a particular reason for this kind of behavior on both sides, with Otavio being very distressed at the fact that Mariana has decided to marry an Argentine. In more aspects than one, Brazilians and Argentines consider each other rivals, be it sports, food, culture, or climate. This feud between the two neighboring nations is now carried out by Otavio and Miguel’s father, Hector. Otavio tries to undermine Argentines and whatever the country has to offer at every opportunity that he gets, and he is particularly harsh towards the climate of Bariloche, the city from where Miguel’s family hails. Despite being critical of the snowy weather of the place, Otavio secretly enjoys seeing and frolicking in the snow, as it is a completely new experience for him, but he never expresses his joy to anyone.

On the other side, Hector is also equally critical and disrespectful towards Otavio, although in a sly manner, by intentionally mispronouncing his name and also by planning skiing trips for both the families after realizing that Otavio is absolutely horrible at skiing. Along with these supposedly subtle tactics of pressurizing each other, the two men also have multiple debates, with the intention of these discussions being to prove their respective country to be superior to the other’s. Their dislike for each other becomes very apparent to the rest of their family members very quickly, while Joana and Miguel’s mother, Norma, has no interest in partaking in this rivalry. The two women become friends quite quickly, and they warn their respective husbands to not ruin things for their children, but to no avail.

Eventually, though, in an intense moment when Otavio and Hector are stuck in a cave together, they suddenly realize that they both have the same intention—to prevent the marriage between Mariana and Miguel. Thus, the two men suddenly become the closest of friends as they go about trying to find a way to cancel the wedding. In reality, both the men fear losing their daughter and son, respectively, and they both want their successors to stay in their homelands. Otavio desperately wants Mariana to stay in Brazil and run the family bar, which he has even rechristened to the family name, changing it from his name. Similarly, Hector wants Miguel to stay in Argentina and take over the hotel that his family owns and runs. Much to their dismay, Mariana and Miguel have decided to move back to Europe and settle there after the wedding, as it would be easier for them to get jobs as musicians.

Thus, the fear of seeing their children grow old and independent and of losing their company is what makes Otavio and Hector act defensive and disrespectful towards each other. Their nationalistic sentiments and rivalry actually shield their personal insecurities, which are born out of sheer love for their children. But once they realize that their main goal is the same, they decide to act together to try and achieve it. Otavio is confident that his soon-to-be son-in-law is cheating on his daughter, and he lets Hector know of this. While Hector clearly does not agree that his son would do something of this kind, he does not object to Otavio’s claim and goes along with it, as that would cancel the marriage, and his son would surely stay back in Argentina with him.

Is Miguel really cheating on Mariana?

One of the main plot developments in Almost Family is the possibility that Miguel is actually cheating on Mariana with a young woman named Carol. Otavio gets a whiff of this possibility and immediately tries to use it as an excuse to break off the marriage, although he cannot do anything before gathering concrete proof of the adultery. Carol happens to be an employee at Hector’s hotel, possibly in the kitchen, as she is mentioned to be responsible for choosing the wine for the guests, and she also actually had a romantic relationship with Miguel in the past. In fact, Hector also tries to take advantage of this past relationship to seemingly break off his son’s ties with Mariana, as he intentionally tells everyone how he knows and trusts Carol since she was a young girl and how she used to date Miguel. But more concerningly, Miguel is evidently very nervous and awkward whenever Carol enters the scene, which makes it seem like he is trying to hide something from the rest of the group.

On one occasion, Otavio overhears Miguel and Carol talking privately after having sneaked away from the family meal, which is extremely suspicious to him. After all, Otavio does not want his daughter to get cheated on and hurt by her fiancé, and so he goes to great lengths to confirm his suspicions. Towards the end of the film, he once again spots Miguel leave the table after receiving a text message from Carol, in which she had informed him of her arrival at the hotel, and he sneakily follows the young man. In a shocking scene, Otavio seemingly finds Carol and Miguel getting intimate in one of the washroom stalls, and he wastes no time to expose this secret affair to the rest of the family. However, as it turns out, it was actually his own son, Felipinho, who had been inside the stall with Carol, as the two had gotten romantically involved in the past few days.

The only reason why Miguel acted so strangely and awkwardly around Carol was that he was indeed hiding a secret, although it had nothing to do with any affair. Miguel had arranged for an extremely rare and expensive Stradivarius violin as a gift for Mariana, and Carol had been helping him acquire it. The musical instrument, of supreme quality, definitely impresses Mariana, and she is also relieved that her fiancé had not been cheating on her. However, she is extremely hurt and disappointed when Miguel springs another surprise on her, announcing that he has taken the decision to settle in Bariloche. Hector had earlier given his son the keys to a family apartment in the city, and Miguel had decided to continue living in Argentina along with Mariana after their marriage. He had not considered discussing the matter with his fiancée, though, and this leads to Mariana splitting up and leaving the hotel for the airport, intending to fly back to Brazil.

Does Mariana accept Miguel’s apology?

After Mariana leaves, Joana and Norma explain to Miguel how he had made a massive blunder, and they encourage him to go after his fiancée and apologize to her. Despite his mistakes, Miguel does not have any ill feelings behind his actions, as he is genuinely in love with Mariana, and so he rushes to the airport in order to apologize. Mariana is not really happy to see him, as she is still not sure whether he has realized his mistake, and she is even more disappointed to see that Miguel has brought along the Stradivarius case, seemingly to use it as a sort of bribe to calm her down. 

However, Miguel soon reveals that he has brought only the empty case of the violin, not as a material gift to influence Mariana’s mind, but to use it as a symbolic representation of their life together. He states that they will move back to Europe and face all their fears together, instead of succumbing to the option of an easier but less fruitful life in South America. Therefore, the empty violin case symbolizes their new lives together, which will be gradually filled and enriched by new experiences and milestones. The couple’s life together is not literally as empty as the case, but rather there is enough space and opportunity for them to have even more cherished memories together.

What are the two surprises in the end?

While Miguel rushes to the airport to apologize to Mariana, their families also decide to do the same in order to ensure that their children do not end the relationship and continue to be together. By now, Otavio and Hector had also sorted out their differences and had truly become good friends, and so they hilariously try to stop the plane headed to Brazil from leaving, as they believe that Mariana is on it. The two families are overjoyed to learn that Miguel and Mariana are together once again, and they settle on a location to celebrate their wedding together. They choose the beach town of Buzios for the occasion, as it is located in Brazil but is also a very popular holiday destination for Argentines, and therefore both sides are happy.

However, Almost Family’s ending has two surprises, one for us viewers and the other for the two families themselves. The airport scene is followed by the two families meeting at Buzos once again, one year later, with many of their friends and relatives visiting a marriage ceremony. But unlike what had been suggested earlier, the wedding is not of Mariana and Miguel but rather of Felipinho and Carol, who had found true love in this while. Mariana and Miguel are seen playing violins during the service instead, and it is later revealed that they have not yet married, although they are very much together. Miguel has been selected to play with the Berlin Philharmonic, which is a great achievement, while Mariana is about to have her own solo performance in Venice, where she will play her mother’s favorite—The Four Seasons by Vivaldi. 

After Mariana hands over an invitation to Otavio for the concert, she and Miguel take the opportunity of their families having gathered together to make an announcement, which is the second surprise in Almost Family’s ending. Mariana has just found out that she is pregnant, meaning that their parents are now going to become grandparents. As Otavio and Hector humorously debate over where their grandchild should be born, in Brazil or in Argentina, Almost Family ends with the two families celebrating the exciting news together. 

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