The Secret Diary of an Exchange Student(2021) is a young adult movie that is about two best friends embarking on a life-changing adventure abroad as exchange students. Barbara and Talia, two girls in Rio, decide to leave their home city to have an adventurous life.
The movie's language is Portuguese because the film is set in Brazil. All the characters' lines are in Portuguese with English subtitles shown on screen. Many cast members are Brazilian; one noticeable actress is Larissa Manoela, who has starring roles in some Brazilian movies. She plays Barbara, a woman who works at Rio's International Airport. After a long shift with little success, Barbara goes through her travel magazines as a way to escape her boring life.
Barbara is unhappy with her current job at the airport, along with her coworker Talia. She dreams of leaving Rio to explore the world. Barbara encourages Talia to apply to the exchange student program so they can get out of their boring lives. Talia agrees, but only if they can survive. The two main characters become exchange students, writing in their journals about their experiences in another country. They travel from Rio, Brazil, to the United States. When they reach the U.S., some of their lines are spoken English. Barbara and Talia go to separate houses for the duration of the exchange student program.