'The Volunteer' is about a mature woman, tired of her retired life and usually comparing herself to her grandmother friends, but she does not have grandchildren, which is what she wants most. Marisa -Carmen Machi- decides to travel to a Greek refugee camp where, in her opinion, they need people exactly like her. When she gets there, she discovers a reality that she could not have imagined and that leads her to explore the limits between love and the need to feel useful. This acceptable movie involves drama, emotion, personal relationships between unfortunate people and human values. Nely Reguera's second drama is a film starring Carmen Machi in which she presents a portrait of the work done by humanitarian workers in refugee camps. In the director's words, we try to "avoid a portrait of the white savior", that is, we flee from a look of superiority and arrogance in the face of a humanitarian crisis of such magnitude. It is a kind and light drama, whenever the child element is introduced it is easier to make us cry, but the film is a maternal story of friendship and humanity that manages to touch on many themes without having to wallow in humanitarian tragedies. It is all this whirlwind of feelings that can overwhelm those who approach the reality on the ground, but some important question arises.

This is an emotional drama, full of feeling, moving scenes and sensational performances. The incredible and sensitive story of a good woman who makes an important decision in her own sad life to save many others. In 'La Voluntaria' we observe how in the "first world" we refuse to face the minutiae of our daily reality while in needy countries they have to live with the greatest hardships without the possibility of escape. Many of these hardships do not disappear but they receive warm clothing with the solution offered by the volunteers. With this we see that beyond needing shelter, food or work, these people need a psychological stimulus that makes them feel like someone, that gives them a project for the future. This seems like a reflection that has been taken advantage of to include in this text, but it is really something that the film induces us to think about. Reguera's look is very accurate. But 'La Voluntaria' also touches on other realities such as the activities of NGOs, the need for maternal love, social relationships, healthcare and cultural confrontations.

Nely Reguera, director of stories with comedic overtones such as 'Valeria', 'María (y los otros)' or the successful 'Benvinguts a la familia', was signed for this drama about migration crises and refugees, while she also explores the need for feel useful.

Taking a look at the website of the HOME cinema in Manchester, I was excited to discover that VIVA:The 29th Spanish & Latin American Manchester Film Festival was soon taking place, which led to me getting tickets for all the upcoming Q&A screenings, and travelling to meet the the volunteer.

Note: Review contains some plot details.

View on the film:

Detailing in the Q&A after the screening the aid work she did at a refugee camp in 2016, co-writer (with Valentina Viso and Eduard Sola) / director Nely Reguera & her regular cinematographer Aitor Echeverria bringing the lasting impact of this period onto the screen, with stylish, fluid hand-held camera moves building an intimate, documentary- style atmosphere, as the audience is placed right next to Marisa (played with an expressive warmth that has no filter at all by a great Carmen Machi) in the refugee camp.

Revealing in the Q&A that she wanted to capture in the film watching "Marisa from a long distance" and extensively filming at a real refugee camp in Greece, Reguera brilliantly crosses hand-held close-ups, with long-take wide-shots, which are held back as Reguera gives scenes room to fully breath, with the parental bonding Marisa has for Ahmed being allowed to fully grow in the sequences where the camera stands back, and watches their daily routine.

Mentioning in the discussion after the screening about aid workers going into refugee camps, with the belief that they personally can save everyone, the screenplay by Reguera, Sola and Viso takes a critical view of the white saviour complex from the moment Marisa blocks all others at the refugee camp from her sight, holding a narrow vision of saving Ahmed, without ever asking Ahmed if he wants to be saved by her.

Picking up the phone for Zoom calls Marisa has with her adult children, the writers highlight the disconnect Marisa's kids have from every attempt she makes to reach out to them, which on top of her recently retiring from being a DR, leaves her completely stranded, as the writers explore Marisa's attempt to return to land, via jumping at the chance to become an aid worker, and from when she meets the child Ahmed for the first time, decides to become his saviour.