As the movie opens Clara, a cartoonist and writer is being convinced by husband Francisco (who manages her career) to get ready to attend a reception in her honor. She has received an all-important award for children's literature. Her prestige and visibility have placed many additional demands on her time, and a major publishing house is slated to issue her next book, still in the planning stage.
To give her time and space for working without distraction, Francisco has arranged for the whole family (including teenage daughter Violeta and pre-teenage son Lisandro) to live in a spacious, airy home in the small town where Clara grew up. She initially agrees with the setup but it doesn't seem to work for her; she feels isolated, uninspired and the work on her book does not advance.
In search of human contact Clara looks up old acquaintances in the town, among them Ariel, a childhood sweetheart, his mother who was (and is) fond of her and Ariel's brother Carlos, who was Clara's friend and is now an ordained Catholic priest. Carlos offers meals for neighborhood children and Clara joins a group of local mothers that prepare and manage the meals. One day she brings a pad and charcoal and sketches in front of the children awakening their curiosity. A contact between Clara and the children ensues that transforms her life (and theirs).
Paola Barrientos, playing Clara does an excellent job. Everything she goes through on screen is transmitted to the viewer; her difficulties as a writer, frustrations as a mother and the mid-life crisis of a married woman. She is supported by the excellent script of director Natalia Smirnoff; nothing is missing, nothing is redundant. The rest of the actors and cinematography are at the same level. With this movie, Smirnoff has added another hit to her already brilliant curriculum (Puzzle 2010, Lock Charmer 2014).
To give her time and space for working without distraction, Francisco has arranged for the whole family (including teenage daughter Violeta and pre-teenage son Lisandro) to live in a spacious, airy home in the small town where Clara grew up. She initially agrees with the setup but it doesn't seem to work for her; she feels isolated, uninspired and the work on her book does not advance.
In search of human contact Clara looks up old acquaintances in the town, among them Ariel, a childhood sweetheart, his mother who was (and is) fond of her and Ariel's brother Carlos, who was Clara's friend and is now an ordained Catholic priest. Carlos offers meals for neighborhood children and Clara joins a group of local mothers that prepare and manage the meals. One day she brings a pad and charcoal and sketches in front of the children awakening their curiosity. A contact between Clara and the children ensues that transforms her life (and theirs).
Paola Barrientos, playing Clara does an excellent job. Everything she goes through on screen is transmitted to the viewer; her difficulties as a writer, frustrations as a mother and the mid-life crisis of a married woman. She is supported by the excellent script of director Natalia Smirnoff; nothing is missing, nothing is redundant. The rest of the actors and cinematography are at the same level. With this movie, Smirnoff has added another hit to her already brilliant curriculum (Puzzle 2010, Lock Charmer 2014).
