‘Double Dad’: Who Is Her Real Father?

Double Dad (2021) is a Brazilian film that is centered around a teenager named Vicenza.

The opening scene of ‘Double Dad’ reveals Vicenza painting a self-portrait of herself. The self-portrait she paints symbolizes her true identity but is left incomplete. She explains how hard it is to paint a perfect self-portrait when she needs to know her own identity better. Vicenza doesn’t know who her birth father is. Her birth mother won’t listen to her when it comes to this subject. Vicenza is determined to find her real father.

Vicenza wears wooden half-moon earrings. Her half-moon earrings symbolize her place of belonging in the world. Mother Moon wears half-moon earrings similar to Vicenza’s, indicating she is Vicenza’s guardian.

Vicenza finds a wooden picture frame of her mother; when she picks up the frame, it accidentally breaks, and she finds an important clue. On the back of the photo, she finds a scripted message, which is shown in white subtitles to the viewers. The scripted message about Rio inspires her to search for her father on her own.

She sneaks out of her home at night, looking at the half-moon in the sky above. She rides her bike out of town and buys herself a bus ticket to Rio. On the bus ride, she holds the photo with the scripted message. Her friendly personality helps her talk to people for directions.

Though Vicenza doesn’t know much about her real father, she is able to find clues through the photographs she discovers. She also gets better at painting, meaning she is able to find her sense of true identity. She uses the clues she obtains to search for her dad and his identity. A scene where Vicenza gives the man her father’s date of birth indicates to viewers that she is getting close.

Vicenza uses a smartphone, indicating to viewers that ‘Double Dad’ takes place in the present day. Her text messages are shown to viewers on the screen.

Vicenza reunites with her mother and Mother Moon; her mother states Vicenza has a right to know her father’s identity. She collects DNA samples, which are important clues that trace her to her real father, completing her quest. Surprisingly, she has two dads, referencing the movie’s title ‘Double Dad.’ Her self-portrait is now complete with her face on it, symbolizing her true identity is found.