“Clara Sola”
Movie Review
Directed
by Natalie Alvarez Mezen, 'Clara Sola' is a drama film about a remote Costa
Rican village where Clara, a fortysomething, experiences a sexual awakening
after a lifetime of repression. Starring Daniel Castaneda Rincon and Ana Julia Porras
Espinoza.
Director
Alvarez Mesen believes in two things: women and nature. So the decision to set
this obscure story in her native Costa Rica seems intuitive. The misty suburbs
of Vara Blanca, a city north of San José, are a unique universe shaped by the landscape
and imaginary boundaries: some geographical, others religious. Clara is the
town healer, and the power implicitly given to her by God leaves her at the
mercy of conservative values. Still, in her 40s, she is cared for by her
mother, who refuses the spinal surgery she needs for fear that her daughter
will somehow lose her sacred "purity," and she has a marked aversion
to being touched. At a critical juncture, when her white mare Yuka is about to
be sold, Clara finds herself ready to assess what she must contend with in her
growing relationship with her own body.
Desire
is inimitable, and sexuality finds its fuel in the most unexpected places. The
film finds the once-heroine spiraling into jealousy and obsession with her
niece Maria, played by Ana Julia Borres Espinoza's new lover. As the only
secondary male character in the film, Santiago's appearance is more than just a
character sketch to bring Clara's desire out of hiding. She sees his face
everywhere, and succumbs to greedy daydreams, which we never see but feel; She
knew where he lived, only the number of houses one had to pass to get there;
This desire is primary in its origin and temporary in its manifestations.
The
film abounds with wet and fragrant scenes of portable mystery, its vitality
fueled at every moment by a vague desire: to be one with nature. Lensed by
cinematographer Sophie Winquist Loggins, 'Clara Sola' is invested in the
horizontal relationships between humans, spirits, and animals, all with
careful, compelling close-ups and equally long takes. Composer Ruben de
Gesell's haunting score envelops Clara in a seemingly impenetrable world awash
with sounds as she wakes up.
Director
Alvarez Mezen leaves room for ambiguity in her treatment of relationships
between women, pointing out the role of control, contempt, and jealousy
inherited by the patriarchal order, which the women then internalize. Some of
these issues, however, beg more detail in the context of Clara being a largely
unknown but intuitive heroine, at times asking the audience to consider more:
about motherhood, about the destructive power of female desire. However, none
of this can take away from the curious pleasure of immersing oneself in the
ambiguous beauty of Clara's world: a tale of female anger told with sensual
pleasure.
[WATCH MOVIE REVIEW...]
0 Comments