“Libertad” - Film Review
Libertad translates to freedom or liberty in English. It’s also the title of Clara Roquet’s film about a teenage girl coming of age over the course of a summer. Nora (Maria Morera) is a fourteen-year-old girl who leads a sheltered life. She’s quiet and lonely, disconnected from her younger siblings and mother, Teresa (Nora Navas). The family is traveling to visit Ángela (Vicky Peña), Nora’s grandmother, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. She requires full-time care and attention, but doesn’t receive it from her family. Instead, Teresa has hires Rosana (Carol Hurtado) to care for her mother and what has become their summer house. Teresa, her children, and her extended family breeze in during the summer months to enjoy the beauty of Costa Brava before leaving again. This summer is different because Rosana’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Libertad (Nicolle García), is also spending the summer there. Libertad is a clash of social and economic classes that unfolds over three months.
courtesy of film movement
It’s not uncommon for those who are rich enough to afford domestic workers to claim that those people are “basically family.” It’s a sentiment that’s repeated frequently in Libertad, and it ultimately forces the audience to realize how sinister that phrase really is. Those in power, the ones who are employing the domestic workers, use family as a means of manipulation, to make their employees feel included and subliminally encourage them to go above and beyond the expectations of their job. The same tactic is used in companies, with the same result. It’s an emotional means of abusing power, because the person calling the shots rarely has remorse if the tide turns and they no longer need the employee.
Libertad asks the ultimate question: what is freedom? Nora sees Libertad as a carefree teen, so far removed from the shy, awkward girl she is. Yet one could argue, as the film does, that it’s Nora who has the freedom because of her socio-economic standing. Nora wants to be included in Libertad’s partying and sneaking out because she sees that as freedom, but she doesn’t understand how low the stakes are for her. She wants to run away with Libertad to Majorca because she wants to get away from her mother, but when Libertad presents her with the reality of living on their own, Nora is fully out of her depth. When the girls get in trouble and Teresa forbids them from spending time together, Libertad must work with her mom in the kitchen and around the house. It’s shocking how quickly Nora reverts to a place of privilege, but it’s clearly something she learned from her mother.
courtesy of film movement
The languid boredom of summer really shines through Libertad. The characters spend their time lounging in the sun, eating ice cream, and napping. It’s a dreamy setting, an illusion for the rich people. Relaxation exists at the hands of someone tirelessly working behind the scenes. Rosana is responsible for every aspect of Ángela’s day-to-day cooking, cleaning, and serving meals. Never once do we see Nora or her family helping Rosana in any way. They barely speak to Ángela, yet they enjoy the beauty of her coastal home.
The conflict of Libertad takes place in close quarters. Within the confines of a house, there are two extraordinarily different experiences playing out. One is that of privilege with very little regard for the other people sharing the space. The other is of a mother who has given up her life in Colombia to try to provide a better life for her daughter. Libertad is a sun-drenched examination of the way we care, or don’t care, about other people.
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