Clara Sola

Released Jul 1, 2022

1 hr. 48 min.

Drama

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93%

59 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

In a remote village in Costa Rica, 40-year-old Clara endures a repressively religious and withdrawn life under the command of her mother. Her uncanny affinity for creatures large and small allows Clara to find solace in the natural world around her. Tension builds within the family as Clara's younger niece approaches her quinceañera, igniting a sexual and mystical awakening in Clara, and a journey to free herself from the conventions that have dominated her life.

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Critics Consensus

Discomfiting and dreamy, Clara Sola brings a sensual surreality to a story of oppressed autonomy, with debuting star Wendy Chinchilla Araya providing a mesmerizing focal point.

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Camilo M

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.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/06/23

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Ravenswood R

Wendy Chinchilla Araya is outstanding in every way, flawlessly portraying the sometimes frightening emotions of the main character Clara. Many themes are explored here, exploitation, oppression, repression, abuse, nonconformity, and the often confusing and ultimately futile attempts we make to communicate with each other. The film has a lot to offer and is beautifully well made and engrossing. Some of the supernatural touches seem off kilter and a bit out of place, but forgiving that this is a wonderful and exceptionally touching film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/19/23

Full Review

Rose H

Lush tropical rainforests, juxtaposed with religious iconography & loaded with witchy themes of feminine power. This is a film I'll watch again!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/10/22

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Nathalie Álvarez Mesén

Director

Wendy Chinchilla Araya

Clara

Ana Julia Porras Espinoza

Maria

Daniel Castañeda Rincón

Santiago

Flor María Vargas Chaves

Fresia

Nathalie Álvarez Mesén

Writer

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Clara Sola: Trailer 1

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

This atmospheric debut from Costa Rican-Swedish director Nathalie Álvarez Mesén combines mud, moss and mysticism to arresting effect.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 20, 2022

Full Review

Finlay Spencer

Little White Lies

In the end, the metaphor gets in the way of the emotion.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 16, 2022

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Clara Sola is superbly filmed and composed with a very humid sense of atmosphere, and Araya’s performance is a miracle of sympathy and candour.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 15, 2022

Full Review

Tina Kakadelis

Beyond the Cinerama Dome

Clara Sola shows what happens when enough finally becomes enough. A breaking point decades in the making over something that never should have been taken from Clara in the first place: her autonomy.

Feb 25, 2024

Full Review

Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

Director-cowriter Natalie Alvarez Mesen takes a sharply observant approach, along the way finding wider insight into the ways outsiders struggle to find their voice.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 15, 2023

Full Review

Hector A. Gonzalez

InSession Film

Unfortunately, Clara Sola’s connections to Carrie bring it down a notch as it heads toward a familiar conclusion. Still, there’s great potential for the director’s future career...

Rated: C+

Jul 25, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

In a remote village in Costa Rica, 40-year-old Clara endures a repressively religious and withdrawn life under the command of her mother. Her uncanny affinity for creatures large and small allows Clara to find solace in the natural world around her. Tension builds within the family as Clara's younger niece approaches her quinceañera, igniting a sexual and mystical awakening in Clara, and a journey to free herself from the conventions that have dominated her life.

Director: Nathalie Álvarez Mesén
Executive Producer: Peter Kropenin
Screenwriter: Nathalie Álvarez Mesén, Maria Camila Arias
Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Production Co: Laïdak Films, Pacífica Grey, Hobab, Need Productions, Resolve Media, Film Capital Stockholm
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Spanish
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 1, 2022, Limited

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