Manuela
(Manuela)
Clara Cullen | Drama, Fiction
2023 | 70 minutes | Argentina, Mexico
A Latin American nanny finds an unlikely connection with the defiant two year old she's hired to look after when faced with an impossible decision.
Synopsis
In this narrative, the complexities of migration, motherhood, and socioeconomic disparity are explored through the story of Manuela, a Latin American immigrant navigating the alienating urban landscape of Los Angeles. As she searches for employment, she secures a job as a nanny for Alma, the daughter of a distant and perpetually absent businesswoman, Ellen.
The film uses the growing intimacy between Manuela and Alma to interrogate themes of displacement, both physical and emotional. The poolside setting and domestic labor draw attention to the intersections of race, class, and gender, while Manuela’s increasing assumption of maternal duties, symbolized by her wearing Ellen’s clothes, blurs the boundaries between servant and mother figure. Ellen's prolonged absence complicates this dynamic further, raising questions about the commodification of care in affluent households and the emotional labor expected of immigrant women.
Reviews
"'Manuela' deals with the built-in alienation and foibles of an L.A. nanny’s life as she builds a strong bond with her young charge, meanwhile missing her own child — an occupational hazard. It’s a filmic film, with a naturalistic shooting style and a sense of improvisation, not purely for art’s sake, but for the sake of making the surrogate mother/child relationship feel all the more real." — Josef Woodard, Santa Barbara Independent
"'Manuela', a Latin film that shows the various maternal relationships." — Leila Medina, CNN
Citation
Coming soon.
Cataloging
A MARC record for this title is not available yet.
Pragda subjects
Economics + Social Class Issues
Family
Labor Studies
Latin American Studies
Migration Studies
North America
South America
Women
Keywords
Clips
Festivals
Santa Barbara International Film Festival - Nueva Vision Award-LatAm Film; Cine Las Americas International Film Festival - Best Narrative, Jury Award; LALIFF Los Angeles Latino Int'l Film Festival; Mar del Plata International Film Festival; Uruguay International Film Festival; Milwaukee Film Festival; ¡Cine Magnífico! LatAm Film Festival; Violet Crown Cinema Austin; Festival do Rio; Southern Lights on Tour Film Festival
DIRECTOR: Clara Cullen
NATIONALITY: Argentina, Mexico
YEAR: 2023
GENRE: Drama, Fiction
LANGUAGE: Spanish; English
COLOR / B&W: Color
GRADE LEVEL: High School, College, Adult
SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE
AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE
Existing customers, please log in to view this film.
New to Pragda? Register to request a quote.
Related Films
Three Summers
Três veroes
Nobody's Watching
Nadie nos mira
Babygirl
La hembrita
Carlos Saura Photographer
[M]otherhood
Good Manners
As boas maneiras
Courtroom 3H
La Paz
Calladita
A Decent Woman
Los decentes
Related Collections
Mexican Films
A collection of fascinating titles, from recent films to restored jewels, that highlight the significance of Mexican cinema’s quality and status while encompassing different aspects of the country's culture and traditions.
Number of titles: 76
SEE COLLECTION >