# Clara Sola

Clara Sola is a 2021 drama film directed by Nathalie Álvarez Mesén. It was selected as the Costa Rican entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. The film won the Georges Delerue Award for Best Soundtrack/Sound Design at Film Fest Gent in 2021.

## Plot

In a remote Costa Rican village, forty-year-old Clara has a sexual awakening after a lifetime of repression. Clara lives with her tyrannical mother and her deceased sister's daughter Maria, and her work consists mostly of taking care of the horse, Yuca, who only listens to her. Maria, who is close to her aunt, is about to turn 15 and has started dating a young man, Santiago. Clara suffers from a curvature of the spine, but her mother will not allow her to get surgery even though it would be covered by insurance, claiming she must keep her as God gave her. In addition, she treats Clara like a child and does everything she can to prevent her from having any pleasure, including sexual pleasure, by rubbing her fingers with chili peppers so masturbation will be painful, and reminding her that any such feelings are sinful. When she was young, Clara was supposedly visited by the Blessed Virgin Mary, and has acquired a reputation as a mystic and a faith healer; she is occasionally called upon to bless people, in a room her mother equipped with shrines and chairs for visitors. One of Clara's gifts is knowing the secret name of animals and people.
As the story progresses, Clara finds friendship with Santiago and appears to develop feelings for him. After she sees him and her niece having sex, she goes to the forest to pleasure herself, and stays out all night. When she comes back her mother prays for Clara's sexual feelings to be taken away by God, and after prayer burns her hand on a candle. Another crisis builds when the mother tries to sell the horse, to pay for her granddaughter's quinceañera. Clara sends the horse away, and then bathes in the river with Santiago and they embrace. She tells him her secret name: Sola. Later, she takes Maria's birthday dress and runs away, to Santiago, who takes her back—but the dress is ruined.
At the quinceañera, drama ensues when Clara is told a dead mare was found by the river. In a daze, she tries to kiss Santiago, who finally repulses her somewhat forcefully, after which Clara causes a ruckus, and the party is disrupted further by a minor earthquake. The next day, Clara sets fire to the shrine in her house, watches the Madonna burn, and then runs away as the room and then the house catch fire. Her family thinks she is still inside; she keeps running and ends up at the river where she bathed once with Santiago. A series of pops in her back suggest her spine is moving back into place, and in the forest Clara sees Yuca looking at her. After a shot of the deserted river bend, the screen fades to black.

## Cast

* Wendy Chinchilla Araya as Clara
* Ana Julia Porras Espinoza as Maria
* Daniel Castañeda Rincón as Santiago
* Flor María Vargas Chavez

## Reception
### Critical response

Clara Sola has an approval rating of 92% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 61 reviews, and an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critical consensus states: "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. Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

### Accolades

Awards and nominations for Clara Sola :
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| Guldbagge Awards | 24 January 2022 | Best Film | Best Film | Won |
| Guldbagge Awards | 24 January 2022 | Best Director | Nathalie Álvarez Mesén | Won |
| Guldbagge Awards | 24 January 2022 | Best Screenplay | Nathalie Álvarez Mesén, Maria Camila Arias | Won |
| Guldbagge Awards | 24 January 2022 | Best Cinematography | Sophie Winqvist Loggins | Won |
| Guldbagge Awards | 24 January 2022 | Best Sound/Sound Design | Erick Vargas Williams, Valène Leroy, Charles De Ville, Aline Gavroy | Won |
| Guldbagge Awards | 24 January 2022 | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Wendy Chinchilla Araya | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Awards | 24 January 2022 | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Daniel Castañeda Rincón | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Awards | 24 January 2022 | Best Editing | Marie-Hélène Dozo | Nominated |
| Guldbagge Awards | 24 January 2022 | Best Visual Effects | Ronald Grauer | Nominated |
| International Film Festival of Kerala | 25 March 2022 | Best Film | Best Film | Won |
| Magritte Awards | 4 March 2023 | Best Foreign Film in Coproduction | Best Foreign Film in Coproduction | Nominated |