Manuela

Description
Reviews
Citation
Cataloging

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.

"'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

Select a citation style:

Main credits

Cullen, Clara (film director)
Cullen, Clara (screenwriter)
Martel Seward, Helena (film producer)
Lombardo, Bárbara (actor)
Farago, Alma (actor)
Buhai, Sophie (actor)

Other credits

Cinematography, Gillian Garcia; editing, Valeria Racioppi, Lauren Cabanas; music, Aska Matsumiya.

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

Manuela,Clara Cullen,Barbara Lombardo,Alma Farago,Sophie Buhai,drama,Argentina,USA,Mexico,México,Los Angeles,maternity,bond,women,woman,motherhood,mother,nanny,migration,job,work,immigrant,family,motherly role,women,womanhood,gender,girl,girlhood,mother,motherhood,female,cis woman,cis female,trans woman,trans female,women’s rights,women’s issues,lady,ladies,gentlewoman,madame,miss,missus,mrs.,dame,damsel,ingenue,lass,maid,maiden,belle,gal,ladyfriend,girlfriend,dear,darling,widow,matron,dowager,gender,gender equality,gender pay gap,women’s liberation,women’s rights,family,kin,fellowship,household,immediate family,extended family,multigenerational family,multigenerational household,kinfolk,family tree,genealogy,nuclear family,modern family,family tree,migration studies,migrant studies,immigration studies,refugee studies,diaspora studies,resettlement studies,settlement studies,migration,migrant,immigration,refugee,diaspora,resettlement,settlement,refugees,international migration,continental migration,resettling,settlers,settler,migrant,migrant studies,first generation immigrant,first generation immigration,new americans,new spaniards,labor studies,employment studies,workers rights,workers’ rights,organizing,labor unions,trade unions,unions,industry,employment law,working class,labor rights,labor equity,employment,union organizing,labor organizing,labor rights movements,employment rights movements,workers’ rights movement,workers rights movements,economics,social class,money,capital,capitalism,class,economy,prejudice,intersectionality,inequality,poverty,income gap,wage gap,class warfare,elitism,snobbery,bourgeois,poverty,upper class,middle class,lower class,nouveau riche,north america,america,us,usa,united states,united states of america,us mexico and canada,map of north america,north american countries,states of north america,provinces of north america,countries of north america,continental america,latin american studies,caribbean american studies,island studies,latin american culture,latin american history,latin american politics, caribbean american culture,caribbean american history,caribbean american politics, latin american languages,latin american and caribbean studies,hispanic american studies,hispanic people,hispanic culture,hispanic politics,south america,south american countries,countries in south america,argentina,bolivia,brazil,chile,colombia,ecuador,guyana,paraguay,peru,suriname,uruguay,venezuela,south american politics,south american culture,south american cuisine,south american education,south america in media,south american languages,south america history; "Manuela"; Pragda Films