Sara Mesa writes about this theme in Un amor, pushing toward our monsters. Uprooting, fear, guilt over the past, the right to make mistakes, doubt, rape culture, anxiety, and a love that feels real and must be guessed by the viewer are among the recurring threads. The story translated into film by Isabel Coixet follows the interior life of a broken woman whose past remains undefined. She carries a heavy backpack and survives even without any clear expectations. She is not a flashy person who goes to the countryside to study the apathy that pervades work; she is a broken soul in search of herself. The rural setting functions as a literary space, a voice in its own right. The place in Un amor is natural and wild, yet closed and stifling, harsh and violent.
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Coixet adapts the novel faithfully, with minor changes to fit the space and rhythm. Some characters shift roles to highlight aspects of the cinematic narrative and reshape Nat’s psyche, remaining as instinctive as possible. A director of Coixet’s caliber, skilled in symbolism and precise in photography, costumes, and music, was needed to bring a novel to the screen that is not told in the first person and clearly probes the protagonist’s thoughts and evolution. Nat is revealed with a Pizarnik-like aesthetic, from the coats and sweaters to the unruly hair, in a house that acts as another character — a house that is chipped, leaking, and on the verge of collapse, much like scenes in horror films.
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A love is not a comfortable or pleasant read. It should be absorbed from the inner perspective of the main character, rather than through a realistic lens, while the rest of the elements serve to explain the ending and the short title. Nat is not there to be judged; she is there to be seen and read, just as readers sometimes struggle to interpret themselves. This captures the spirit of the book, even when it is necessary and sometimes unpleasant. Andreas and Píter are part of the backdrop. By centering Nat, Coixet ultimately renders him as many different people across the narrative.
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The wish is that all the Nat characters in the final sequence overcome violence, fear, paralysis, and insecurity. If Sara Mesa’s Un amor sparks rebellion, Isabel Coixet has transformed the film into an experience that belongs to the viewer. The ending remains in a hopeful frame while staying true to the book. A faithful adaptation in tone and intent.