# A mother's apology tour can't carry this film

> Gabriel Martins turns a fatal bus crash into a grief drama that keeps losing its own best material.
- Title: A mother's apology tour can't carry this film · Variety
- Summary: Gabriel Martins turns a fatal bus crash into a grief drama that keeps losing its own best material. A strong premise still collapses when a film funnels…
- Keywords: film review, brazilian cinema, netflix, toronto, drama, entertainment, culture, mother's, apology, tour, can't, carry
- Source: Variety — https://variety.com/2026/film/news/on-behalf-of-my-son-review-1236860722
- Author: Siddhant Adlakha
- Published: 2026-09-13T20:06:25+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: film review, brazilian cinema, netflix, toronto, drama, entertainment, culture
## A crash sets it off
Gabriel Martins builds his Netflix drama around a mysterious bus accident and the wreckage it leaves behind. The premise carries real force.

> A Brazilian drama with a powerful premise but labored execution
## Seen through the driver's mother
The story follows Vicentina, played by Rejane Faria, mother of the driver at the wheel. She becomes the film's single point of view.
## Guilt as a public act
Vicentina punishes herself in the open, going door to door on an apology tour that turns private shame into a repeated ritual.

> she pillories herself with an apology tour
## Other families flicker past
Relatives of the other victims drift into view with their own grief, then get pushed back out before any of it can land.

> offering more potentially affecting moments which quickly fade from view
## The structure eats the story
Cycling through one apology after another leaves no room to stay with anyone. The shape of the film keeps cutting off its richest threads.
## One performance, overloaded
Everything pivots onto Faria, and critic Siddhant Adlakha finds that the weight works against the movie more often than not.

> the dramatic focus pivots entirely around Faria's performance
## Key takeaway

A strong premise still collapses when a film funnels every thread into one overworked performance.