A black Brazilian family mourns the death of a family member in Our Secret, the cryptic first feature written and directed by Grace Passô, which has world-premiered in the Perspectives strand of the Berlinale. The family composition spawns a wide range of different viewpoints, including those of Gilson (Robert Frank), Grazi (Jéssica Gaspar), Guto (Flip), kid brother Tutu (Efraim Santos), mother Suely (Ju Colombo) and aunt Anamélia (Marisa Revert). For the mum, it’s the loss of a husband; for the children, the loss of a father – but both are devastating in different ways. Grief begins to manifest itself in both the stillness of silence and the noise of movement.

“What have you been leaving behind at the crosswalk?” asks a passenger mysteriously at the very start of the film, while sitting in the back of the taxi driven by Gilson. The house in which they dwell, too, seems to be the true keeper of the titular concept; a strange, red-orange substance leaks through the walls. Something seems to dwell inside, which only young Tutu understands, but whether it is literal or metaphorical is something they must explore together. Shooting darkness lit beautifully with purple and blue, the roving camerawork by Wilssa Esser brings life to the home, as if the spirit of the house itself were wandering amongst them.

Visually, the film’s poetic stylistic flourishes appear predominantly at the start and finish, but the bulk of Our Secret is weighed down by what seems to be its intentional lack of clarity. The screenplay circles around themes but barely dives into them, and dialogue between characters becomes equally abstruse. Gilson is constantly startled by strange dreams that appear as a blend of memory and fantasy, but these sequences struggle to cohere with the rest. Music also becomes a key part of the story: joyous revelry is interrupted by the sadness of memory, while characters listen to music as a way to calm themselves. The feature relies heavily on an eerie, tinkling piano motif (music by Amaro Freitas) on the border between diegetic and non-diegetic – however, it quickly grows heavy-handed, despite the otherwise ethereal sound design by Tiago Bello.

With its home-centric setting and core of a family unravelling, Our Secret is reminiscent – in some ways – of last year’s Perspectives winner, The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box). The story also briefly alludes to decolonial undertones with the intrusive and repeated appearance of their white neighbour Lêda (Gláucia Vandeveld), but again, it is difficult for the viewer to cling to. When the film’s reveal finally comes, it’s released in a flood of catharsis, represented literally as the family tries to figure out what’s real and what’s not. While the movie is cinematographically beautiful, it becomes hard to move past its disjointed feeling overall.

Our Secret is a production by Entrefilmes (Brazil), co-produced by Desvia (Brazila), Foi Bonita a Festa (Portugal) and Globo Filmes (Brazil). The Open Reel holds the rights to its world sales.