Aahana Swrup
Originally titled ‘Limpia,’ ‘Swim to Me’ is a Spanish drama film that follows the monotonous life of a domestic worker. Estela, hailing from a small town in Chiloe, currently works as a maid for the Jensens, an affluent employer in a well-to-do Santiago neighborhood. A majority of her responsibilities revolve around Julia, the young kid in the family, who loves spending time and sharing life experiences with the older woman. Therefore, in the build-up to a vacation, when her parents attempt to teach her swimming, and Estela ends up shouldering most of those duties, the duo’s bond grows even deeper. Yet, a looming tragedy on the horizon threatens to tear apart this profound but fragile bond between the two individuals. The story charts a captivating tale about love and connection within a thought-provoking social context. Ultimately, these two characters’ tale leads to an unexpected conclusion. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Swim to Me Plot Synopsis
The Jensen family has plans to visit Lake Caburgua for their upcoming vacation. As a result, Julia’s parents are focused on teaching the young kid how to swim. Her father, Cristobal, has an approach that involves throwing the kid in the pool in their backyard to help her develop the skill. On the other hand, Mara’s idea of teaching swimming to her kid is sending her to an exclusive lessons club for kids. Nonetheless, the household maid, Estela, who is tasked with dropping Julia off at the classes, can tell the kid’s reluctance to respond to these methods. Therefore, taking pity on the girl, she takes her out of the class and brings her along to run errands throughout the day. Afterward, the duo manages to convince the mother against the classes. Thus, the responsibility ultimately ends up falling on Estela’s shoulders.
Around the same time, Estela meets a cute guy at a gas station while buying some cigarettes. Despite the charm she holds onto that is said to ward off love and romance, the guy inevitably sparks her interest. Likewise, although she has to keep putting off a visit to her hometown of Chiloe, she’s desperate to visit her aging mother. The latter, who can see the impact of her daughter’s taxing, thankless work, insists she save up her vacation days for a holiday trip. Yet, soon enough, it becomes evident that the mother needs her daughter’s support when she falls down and breaks a hip. Initially, Sonia, a family friend, looks over the woman, Rosa, in the absence of her children. However, when Estela tries to explain the situation to the Jensens, they try to talk her out of leaving, insisting that it would be better to visit post-surgery during the recovery period.
As such, Estela is once again prevented from going home, stuck taking care of Julia while her parents remain largely absent. Fortunately, Rosa makes it through the surgery without any complications. Eventually, her daughter’s path also crosses with the gas station clerk, Carlos, again, who seems to have befriended the same local dog, Dadu, as her. By the time Christmas and New Year’s come around, Estela’s circumstances remain much the same, with the exception of two new additions in her life: Carlos and Dadu. However, by the time she manages to make arrangements to finally visit home, the unthinkable happens: Rosa passes away. Naturally, the fact that she couldn’t have been with her mother in her final moments sends Estela into a deep depression. As a result, she backs out of accompanying the family on their Lakeside vacation. This invites Julia’s annoyance, which inevitably compels her to spill a secret that gets Estela fired. Shortly afterward, the Jensen family faces a tragedy of their own.
Swim to Me Ending: What Happened to Julia? Did She Die?
Throughout the film, Julia and Estela’s relationship remains at the center of the narrative. Their relationship clearly surpasses a surface-level bond between a kid and her nanny. Instead, in her parents’ perpetual absence and her nanny’s genuine love and care, the latter becomes an emotionally significant guardian in her life. The kid consistently showcases a preference for spending time with Estela over the playdates her parents plan or the parties that they throw. Yet, despite everything, the kid naturally lacks an understanding of the dynamics between herself, her parents, and the nanny. Earlier in the year, the kid had inadvertently gotten bitten by Dadu while the dog was secretly hanging out with Estela at the Jensen house.
At the time, Estela had taken Julia to a local hospital to take care of the small wound and administer precautionary shots. However, she had kept the incident a secret from her parents, knowing it would only lead to more trouble. Surprisingly enough, both Mara and Cristobal remained oblivious to the same, showcasing just how little participation they had in their child’s life. Nonetheless, Julia eventually ends up spilling about the incident when she’s mad at Estela for bailing out of the Lake trip. This has heartbreaking consequences, including the termination of the maid’s employment with the family. In the aftermath, she has no option but to return home.
Yet, shortly after Estela boards the bus, she receives a phone call from the Jensens’ security guard, Ivan, who shares disheartening news. Although the story never explicitly showcases what this news is, the interspersed scenes of Julia hitting the bottom of a lake paint the story in its entirety. During the family’s vacation to Caburgua, Julia had likely committed suicide, drowning herself in the lake. In her young age, her abrupt and stern separation from Estela, the closest thing she had to a guardian in the face of her parents’ disinterest and emotional negligence, would’ve been a traumatizing incident. The fact that part of this separation was triggered by something Julia did would have added to the feelings of guilt. Therefore, in the end, the young girl chose a tragic fate for herself.
Why Does Estela Shoot Dadu?
Part of what leads Julia to reveal the story of her getting bitten by Dadu stems from the latter’s arrival at the Jensen residence at a time when Mara was in the house. The dog is used to frequenting the house for food and affection since Estela had almost adopted him, keeping him hidden at times inside her apartment. Still, she knew that her employers wouldn’t be pleased to see the dog around. Unfortunately, before she could shoo the dog away, Julia spotted him and began interacting with him. This invites Mara’s curiosity, which eventually leads to the reveal of the big secret.
After blowing up at Estela, the mother insists that she and the dog both leave the residence at once. However, she overreacts, reaching for the hose to waterboard the dog out of the yard. This has an adverse result. Earlier, a robbery attempt at the Jensen residence had shaken up the entire gated community. For the same reason, Cristobal had installed an electric fence around the house, especially in a small spot in the yard’s gate, which had enough wiggle room for a thief. Tragically enough, it’s the same spot Dadu frequents. Therefore, once Mara opens the hose at him, the dog makes a beeline for the gate and ends up getting severely electrocuted in the process.
On the verge of death, Dadu suffers great pain, an innocent victim of Mara’s power play. While he whimpers on the ground, the latter advises Estela to leave him alone since any contact would risk further electrocution. Nevertheless, watching the canine suffer isn’t so easy for Estela, who had almost formed a home away from home in his company. The fact that this tragedy happens on the heels of her mother’s death likely enhances the intensity of her emotions. As such, she decides that if she can’t save Dadu, she at least wants to put the dog out of his misery. Around the same time as the robbery, Cristobal also bought and hid a revolver in the house for safety. Thus, Estela uses this same firearm to kill the innocent dog, making his death quick albeit not painless.
Does Estela Ever Return to Chiloe?
Throughout the story, Estela’s narrative revolves significantly around her desire to return home for a short but essential vacation. She’s a full-time, live-in maid at the Jensen household, employed to spend every holiday and celebration with them without a given leave. Essentially, neither Mara nor Cristobal is eager to put their lives aside to spend any substantial time with Julia. They’re caught up with their careers and social lives, all too happy to pass off the burden of parenthood and guardianship to Estela. Therefore, the idea of being without the household worker remains almost unimaginable for the parents. They hold onto this belief even after Estela faces a personal family crisis after her mother’s accident. Instead of being empathetic and allowing Estela to cash in her vacation days, they convince her to stay in Santiago for a few more weeks.
They insist that the surgery is usually incredibly safe, implying that her mother wouldn’t even really need her there for the operation. Furthermore, they encourage her to visit home a week or so later so that she can be around for Rosa’s recovery period. Yet, through all the smoke and mirrors, the fact remains: Mara and Cristobal aren’t willing to bear the burden of looking after Julia in Estela’s absence. Additionally, even once the latter finds the time to visit home, the trip becomes moot once she receives news of her mother’s death. In the end, Estela still attempts to return home, likely with plans to visit her mother’s grave and properly grieve over her passing while evaluating her future plans. Yet, this time around, the news of Julia’s death compels her to deboard the bus. As the film ends on this tragedy, Estela’s possible return to Chiloe remains an unsolved mystery.
Read More: Where Was Netflix’s Swim to Me Filmed?
