Aahana Swrup
Directed by Dominga Sotomayor, ‘Swim to Me’ (Originally titled ‘Limpia’) is an emotionally stirring Spanish film about a domestic worker and the nuclear family whom she works for. In Santiago, Chile, Estela is employed as a live-in maid for the Jensens. In the family, the parents, Mara and Cristobal, are both committed to their careers and personal lives, leaving their young daughter, Julia, in need of a more present caretaker. This is where Estela comes in as an unofficially official full-time nanny. Yet, despite the complicated nuances of their relationship, the older woman and the kid get along swimmingly. Nonetheless, this easy dynamic threatens to crumble into dust with the reality of an inevitable tragedy looming on the horizon. This Netflix production dives into the deep end of complex socio-economic themes while retaining fleshed-out, intricate relationships at the center of its narrative. Naturally, these realistic elements instill intrigue into the story’s connection to reality.
Swim to Me Draws Inspiration From an Alia Trabucco Zerán Novel
‘Swim to Me’ presents an absorbing account of a domestic worker’s life told through a hyper-realistic lens that leaves no room for cinematic romanticisation. Yet, even though this attaches a notable sense of realism to the film, the story itself remains a work of fiction. Penned by director Dominga Sotomayor and her co-writer Gabriela Larralde, the project is inspired by the Spanish novel ‘Clean’ by Alia Trabucco Zerán, translated into English by Sophie Hughes. The novel, a work of contemporary fiction, came as a pleasant unplanned surprise for the author. After working on her debut non-fiction book, ‘When Women Kill: Four Crimes Retold,’ Zerán became intrigued with one particular topic she covered in her work. Maria Teresa Alfaro was a domestic worker in Chile who had killed her employer’s three children.
The 1960s crime ended up capturing Zerán’s intrigue beyond her debut non-fiction novel. While the author wasn’t necessarily inspired by Alfaro’s personality or her crimes, she found some interest in the caricature at the center of the incident. She spoke about the same during a conversation with NPR. She said, “(And) When I was writing that essay (in When Women Kill: Four Crimes Retold’), which actually examines female transgression, I realized there was something about her, about (Maria Teresa) Alfaro, beyond the crime that interested me. Her work, her isolation, but above all, it was the voice, and so the voice just wouldn’t leave me alone, and I had to write the book (‘Clean’).” In her novel, Zerán explores the social and economic identity and narrative of a domestic worker through the fictional character of Estela. Thus, with that real-life-inspired inciting influence, Zerán crafts a realistic storyline that remains socially relevant. Despite the notable changes between the book and its on-screen counterpart, ‘Swim to Me’ inherits this sense of realism without retaining any actual inspirations in real-life people, events, or crime.
Swim to Me Explores the Reality of Domestic Work
In ‘Clean,’ Alia Trabucco Zerán examines the socio-economic realities of domestic work, particularly as it pertains to the societal norms of Chile. The book is framed as a distinct story that takes place during a police interrogation in the aftermath of Julia’s tragic death. Throughout the story, Estela regales the tale of her life under the employment of the Jensens, disclosing the raw reality of her work and their family. Notably, the film takes a different route in the framing of its narrative. It directly follows the monotonous days in the life of Estela, following her and Julia’s misadventures. Still, despite the shift in the translation from book to movie, the core thematic pillars of the story remain the same.
Through Estela’s story, ‘Swim to Me’ showcases the unique relationship between a kid and her nanny, exploring the emotional, social, and economic threads at play within their dynamic. Furthermore, it highlights the lived realities of domestic workers, who play a crucial yet often invisible role in social landscapes across multiple countries and cultures. Despite the relevance of this industry, domestic workers reportedly have a history of exclusion from labor protection rights and policies. Ultimately, through Estela and Julia’s complex narrative, the film strives to tell a nuanced albeit fictionalized story. “I wanted to make a film with complex characters, without casting victims,” Dominga Sotomayor told Deadline. “I tried not to prejudge, but to observe. In that moral ambiguity, I think we can all feel more challenged. The characters act on their own belief systems, and each one feels they are doing the right thing; this blindness is a large part of the conflict.”
Read More: Swim to Me Ending Explained: Is Julia Dead?
