Magic realism, originally a literary term applied to mind-blowing novels like One Hundred Years of Solitude, has always felt right at home in Latin American cinema, though frequently this bold stylistic device is mistaken for all that’s needed to make a fascinating film. That’s pretty much the case with Nathalie Alvarez Mesen’s loosely structured first feature Clara Sola, which chronicles a succession of bizarre, potentially miraculous incidents involving its titular protagonist on a remote Costa Rican homestead in the jungle. Their meaning is, of course, left to the viewer to decide. Situated amidst tropical nature and splendidly photographed, it’s an attractive film to look at as well as a curious one, and its feminist message will not be lost on the art house audiences it’s aimed at. Its bow in Cannes’ Directors Fortnight has been rapidly followed by festival bookings that include BFI London and El Gouna.
The strength of the film, in any case, is the hypnotic performance by dancer Wendy Chinchilla Araya, who is making a belated but powerful screen debut here as Clara, a wild woman who lives in the outbacks with her caring but highly controlling family. A deformed spine makes it difficult for her to walk, and one wonders where she falls on a mental health scale. Yet her aged mother Fresia has cashed in on her eccentricities and physical appearance, turning misfortune into a goldmine. On given days, the house fills up with sick people from far and near, who stand in front of a gaudy statue of the Virgin Mary and pictures of the saints and beg Clara to heal them. Though we don’t see any miracles, she must be effective because her following is quite loyal.
Dona Fresia controls Clara with a firm hand, making her dress in frumpy clothes she hates and delimiting her movements with purple rags dangling from stakes in the ground. Yet sometimes Clara disobeys and goes into the jungle to fall asleep at the foot of a giant tree whose roots cradle her, like Mother Earth her daughter. She also feels supernaturally close to the family’s dazzling white mare, Yuca, and rebels when Dona Fresia tries to sell it.
There is little in the way of story, just more oddball episodes as Clara’s personality emerges. Sexuality plays a significant role in the family drama. While Clara’s teenage niece Maria (Ana Julia Porras Espinoza) is free, in a sense, to sneak out at night and explore her budding sexuality with the good-looking stable hand Santiago (Daniel Castaneda Rincon), Clara is punished for touching herself while they watch a sexy TV drama together. Dona Fresia berates her and makes her dip her fingers in hot chili powder – a deterrent if there ever was one – but it doesn’t quell Clara’s longings for Castaneda Rincon’s unexpectedly empathetic Santiago.
For those who don’t believe in on-screen miracles, Alvarez and Maria Camila Arias’s screenplay offers a realistic thread to follow alongside the magical one. And they don’t villainize anyone; in fact, Maria and Santiago are kind and affectionate to the family’s resident black sheep, even when she crosses the line wearing (and destroying) the fancy dress that was to have been Maria’s for her 15th birthday coming-out party, her quinceañera. The party itself is one of the film’s culminating scenes and is nicely ominous, filled with Carrie vibes as Clara loses her self-control and unleashes the mystical power of repressed female anger. But the real horror occurs later in a climax for which there is an entirely rational, psychological explanation, leaving a supernatural kick for the last scene.
Chinchilla Araya, well known as a modern dancer, proves to be an excellent if dominant choice in the leading role. She is an earth mother of few words but immense physical articulateness, and she easily keeps the audience on her side against the “normals”. Helene Dozo’s editing does a fine job bringing out the characters’ relationships, but the screenplay as a whole feels underpowered and in need of a stronger narrative arc.
The film’s striking location is beautifully served in Sophie Winqvist Loggins’ lush cinematography, which locates the story between the marvels of nature and a misty dreamscape.
Director: Nathalie Alvarez Mesen
Screenwriters: Nathalie Alvarez Mesen, Maria Camila Arias
Cast: Wendy Chinchilla Araya, Daniel Castaneda Rincon, Ana Julia Porras Espinoza
Producers: Nima Yousefi, Alan McConnell, Geraldine Sprimont, Karina Avellan Troz
Cinematography: Sophie Winqvist Loggins
Production design: Amparo Baeza, Agustin Moreaux
Editing: Marie-Helene Dozo
Music: Ruben De Gheselle
Sound design: Erick Vargas Williams, Valerie Leroy, Charles De Ville
Production companies: Hobab (Sweden), Need Productions (Belgium), Resolve Media (US), Pacifica Grey (Costa Rica), Laidak Films (Germany)
World sales: Luxbox
Venue: El Gouna Film Festival (Feature Narrative competition)
In Spanish
106 minutes
