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Manuela

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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.

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