Clara Sola (2021) User Reviews

A maddening tale of repression

[gbill-74877 · 7/10 · 2 September 2023]

This is the rather sad story of a middle-aged woman (Clara, Wendy Chinchilla Araya) living with her elderly mother in a rural Costa Rican village, as well as her dead sister's teenaged daughter. Clara is happy communing with nature and the family's horse and understands things through her quiet observations that others don't, and yet, she's mentally challenged, and seriously repressed. Her mother's idea of showing love and protecting her is to deny her a surgery the doctors recommend ("God gave her to me like this"), prop her up as one touched by the Virgin Mary to serve as a faith healer of sorts to the locals, and to put chili pepper on her fingers when she catches her masturbating. It's quite maddening.

We see Clara take steps to control over her identity and sexuality, but it's an uphill battle in this environment. Daniel Castañeda Rincón turns in a strong performance as he niece's boyfriend, who she becomes attracted to, but to director Nathalie Álvarez Mesén's credit, she never settles for easy moments of sexual awakening when lesser films would have done so. Araya channels a purity of soul in the lead character, while at the same time, somehow never idealizing her. It's not clear what she believes about all the Virgin Mary stuff, but she has an extraordinary connection to nature, with a spirituality that feels far more enlightened.

This is a solid effort all around, and the only reason for not rating it higher was how difficult it was to watch what amounted to a claustrophobic form of abuse. Certainly worth seeing though.

at the edge of the tropical forest

[dromasca · 7/10 · 28 September 2021]

The story in 'Clara Sola', which premiered in Cannes in July 2021, takes place in Costa Rica, in a mountain village, located at the edge of a tropical forest whose strength and immensity oppresses. People try to defend themselves by drawing borders and raising fences. Will these become the limits of their own psychological and social prisons? This is the feature film debut of director Nathalie Alvarez Mesen, who lives in Sweden and has studied cinema in Sweden, Germany and the United States. For this film she worked with an international team composed mostly of women. It is a film about women, written and directed by women, made and acted mostly by women. A film with a feminine and feminist theme, a genre in which I have seen more and more productions in recent years. 'Clara Sola' is one of the most interesting of them.

Clara, the heroine of the film, is different from those around her. She is about 40 years old, she suffers from a disease of the spine that causes her physical pain. Her mother refuses the operation that could put an end to these sufferings, because she fears that becoming 'normal' Clara would lose the 'gifts' that make her special - the connection with the Holy Virgin (whose vision she once had) and the ability to you would heal those around you through prayers. Clara has problems communicating with people, she seems to get into dialogue with animals more easily, from bugs to the family's white horse. The closest human being is her 15 years old niece, the daughter of a sister who died, who is at the age of sexual maturity and first love. The coming to age of the niece triggers or revives the desires repressed for a long time in Clara's soul and body. Again, however, her severe mother tries to stifle the late awakening of these feminine instincts. The special being who is Clara will look for ways to free herself from these constraints.

The theme of the woman who tries to break the social and family circles that oppress her passes the screen mainly due to the original approach and the cinematic qualities of the film. Director Nathalie Alvarez Mesen has chosen to cast exclusively non-professional actors, which guarantees authenticity, because the characters do not 'act' but rather seem to live their lives in the presence of cameras. The only one in the cast who comes from the field of arts is Wendy Chinchilla Araya, but she is also not a professional actress but a dancer, and the way she portrays Clara's feelings on the screen is impressive. The cinematography signed by the Swede Sophie Winqvist is great in framing and composition, but the excessive use of scenes that take place in the dark irritated me at some point. The combination of lack of light and rendering of the characters' point of view sometimes leads to confusion about what is happening on the screen. This works for one scene, but not for half of a movie. The confusions of the characters do not necessarily have to be transmitted to the spectators, and if they happen in a scene they do not have to be repeated. This minus apart, 'Clara Sola' is a remarkable debut film, which manages to create an impressive and memorable female character, and Nathalie Alvarez Mesen is a director who deserves to be watched.

Nature's Reverberations

[blakestachel · 7/10 · 27 January 2023]

One could spend lifetimes learning to see the world the way Clara does. Her intuition for the universe's hidden matrix allows her to vibrate along with its sound. She's attuned to the earth and the soil and is Mother to all the animals who share it. Every creature has a "secret name" that Clara can detect through nature's reverberations. Her distinct gaze suggests a far more piquant view of the world that offsets the rest of the film's conventionality. Her eyes are sunken and fervent; they seem to expose new beauty and meaning all the time. The film excels when we, too, are made to see through them.

Ode to desire

[jacobojanata · 7/10 · 27 September 2022]

The debut by Nathalie Álvarez Mesén focuses on the woman's often unfair and unequal position in a deeply religious society. It tells a story of a sexual awakening and bitter resentment that comes from the rooted beliefs.

Besides spellbinding images it offers an intense emotional perspective of Clara (a role perfectly handled by Wendy Chinchilla Araya) emphasising the importance of freedom of sexual expression, of belonging and not-belonging, and of wide array of desires. Her niece, Maria, has everything that Clara dreams of. Joys of womanhood, sexual contact with a newcomer Santiago, and a relative freedom. Although Clara is obviously jealous of her niece's life, she is not blatantly clear about it, and this envy doesn't destroy their relationship which is full of mutual care, and to some extent also understanding.

Does not connect with viewer

[gar-88258 · 7/10 · 6 June 2022]

The premise of the movie is very good. However, it fails to connect with the viewer. On several occasions it feels like the film is made for someone else, it fails to penetrate the viewer's consciousness. The photography is wonderful, the handling of the camera is excellent. The love of nature is shown in an extraordinary way. Finally, the music is horrible, very uncomfortable.

a seismic experience

[maximefo · 9/10 · 8 July 2022]

Clara Sola is quite a tour de force.

It is the first feminist movie I have watched in which the men (Santiago and Fran) are actually not toxic and mean at all. The social and religious norms are mostly enforced by the main female characters.

The film combines a political and sociological perspective with the esoteric beauty of magical realism. The spectator oscillates between contemplation, empathy and anger throughout the plot.

Clara Sola reminded me a little bit of Ixcanul and El Abrazo de la Serpiente. The main actress gives an unforgettable performance.

Enchanted Forests and Soulful Dances

[natmavila · 9/10 · 19 December 2023]

In a world where films often compete in a sprint of special effects and high-octane action, "Clara Sola" chooses to meander through the woods at its own mystical pace, and what a delightful amble it is! Director Nathalie Álvarez Mesén takes us on a journey that's less about the destination and more about the sensory experience, like a leisurely walk through a Costa Rican forest, only with less risk of mosquito bites and more spiritual awakenings.

Our protagonist, Clara, played with the ethereal charm of a forest nymph by Wendy Chinchilla Araya, is a 40-year-old woman with the wide-eyed wonder of a child and the simmering rebellion of a teenager. Clara's journey of self-discovery, set against the backdrop of religious and familial constraints, is like watching a caterpillar turn into a butterfly, except the caterpillar is a middle-aged woman and the butterfly phase involves a lot less flapping and more sensual dancing with the forces of nature. The film's magical realism is so subtle, you'll find yourself wondering if that frog you just saw is indeed a prince or just a really good actor.

Let's not forget the cinematography! Every frame of this film is a love letter to the lush landscapes of Costa Rica, captured with a tenderness that makes you want to hug a tree or at least water your neglected houseplant. "Clara Sola" isn't just a movie; it's a 106-minute meditation session where you emerge feeling slightly more enlightened and with a sudden urge to adopt a horse. If you're in the mood for a film that gently tickles your soul rather than bombards your senses, give this gem a watch. Just a heads-up, you might find yourself spontaneously doing yoga poses by the end!

A beautiful movie about the spiritual connection to the natural world

[mariekevanderleij · 10/10 · 13 August 2022]

I love this movie because it's so unconventional, pure and reminiscent of our spiritual connection to the natural world. The main character Clara, mentally and physically handicapped, communicates deeply with animals, plants, soil and water. When nature is hurt Clara manifests it through convulsions. The opposite also happens: when Clara is upset, nature replies with an earthquake.

Her freedom is reigned in by purple banners set by her mother who believes her twisted spine was a gift from God by which she can heal humans through the holy mother Mary. But Clara hates being treated as a trophy and it's a struggle to get her dressed up for healing sessions.

Clara wants to break the bonds to experience freedom and sexuality, spurred on by romance on TV and her niece's first love. She befriends a beetle and her mother's beautiful white horse who is to be sold off, which gravely upsets Clara. When the beetle almost dies even Clara's breath cannot revive it. Clara decides the only way to protect the white horse (innocence) is by releasing it into the wild.

In the meantime she's experienced her first physical connection with her niece's lover who likes her but doesn't take her serious as relationship material.

At her niece's birthday party an acquaintance tells her the horse has been found dead by the river. At this moment Clara unleases her repressed sexual desire on the man she covets. He rebukes her, she flies into a rage, thrashes the party and an earthquake ensues.

After this she sets fire to the shrine and flees into the woods.

In the final scene Clara is one with nature again. Now she's broken the restricted confinement set by humans the river magically cures her twisted spine. She's also able to revive the beetle. The camera swings through the trees to see the white horse is alive and well.

Bel hommage à la nature

[claudegimbert · 8/10 · 4 April 2022]

Entre croyances, religion, mysticisme, amour de la nature et éveil de la sexualité , un film complexe et séduisant. Vu aux Images hispano-américaines d'Annecy.

Lifted from Bergman's canon and replanted in women's peasant soil

[camilomarquezmd · 10/10 · 4 April 2023]

Clara Sola is an extraordinary, exquisite, polished gem of a film which clearly radiates, not a Bergmanesque but a Bergman redux quality in its film work, acting, direction, gripping emotional pull and symbolism. Like many of Bergman films it is about reaction to traditional values which attempt to constrain vitality and cause deep distress as the confines are tested and broken. The main distinctions are two, the setting in a peasant community in Costa Rica instead of an aristocratic set of high class artists and that it is directed by a woman who centers the film in the world of women struggling with women's problems. It is one of the best.

Clara will stay in with me for a long time

[irenevictoriapleiter · 8/10 · 10 March 2024]

This movie is set in an environment that you can almost feel and smell, and instantly makes me wish there where way more movies about the real life of families and people living, loving and being in this world.

The storyline is beautiful, it's very subtle, small, honest, quite raw and made from the perspective of love for being human, spiritual connections with animals, growing up and how we are animals too. She is played flawlessly, het purity... The approach on being different and special yet also a humanbeing... Briljant! I want to believe in the magic and not in the harshness of reality, through and with Clara. 💙

Incredible, repressed Guldbagge winner

[martinpersson97 · 10/10 · 2 December 2023]

This film won the Guldbagge, the Swedish equailent of the Oscar, and not without reason, to be sure.

It is a very unconventional, raw and saddening tale of repression, mysticism and awakening, and it is handled gracefully. The actors all do an incredible job at conveying it, very career defining and overall veyr great. All of this accompined by a stellar, great and award winning script for the ages.

The cinematography, cutting and editing is stellar, very unique and overall very beautifully put together, for sure.

Overall, definitely a great award winner, highly deserving of all the praise it has gotten, and very much recommended for any lover of film! I just hope you got to catch it in theaters, like I did.