Familia explores the complicated relationships within a family as they make an important decision. The film is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
An old man named Leo owns an olive ranch. His wife passed away six years ago, and now Leo misses the time when his wife and three daughters lived in his house on the ranch with him.
Leo’s son, Benny, who has Down syndrome, lives with him, while his daughters, who are now grown-ups and have families of their own, visit him often.
This time when his daughters — Rebeca, Julia, and Mariana — come over for lunch, Leo’s girlfriend, Clara, also joins the family.
While Rebeca is happily married to Dan and has two children, Erica and Alan, her sister Julia and her husband are not happy together.
Julia keeps cheating on him, and Julia’s daughter, Amandita, does not know anything about her parents’ marital problems. Julia is a poet, but she has not written anything in months.
She believes that she lacks discipline, so she thinks about setting aside her writing. However, her father advises her to write about losing her mother.
Leo’s youngest daughter, Mariana, is pregnant. She is dating a girl named Mónica, whom she brings over to meet her family.
Mariana refuses to tell her family who the father of her baby is. All they know is that he is not going to be a part of the baby’s life.
When the family gathers for lunch, Leo tells them about an offer he has received. A company wants to buy the ranch and everything that comes with it.
While Rebeca is against selling the ranch and their childhood home, her sisters want to know more about the offer.
Leo has to pay off several loans that he took for his children, and selling the ranch would be the best course of action. The house keeps reminding Leo of the past, and he is sick of not living in the present.
However, selling the ranch also means parting with the family home, where he and his wife raised their children. Leo will only sell the ranch if his daughters agree.
He gives them a few days to discuss the matter and come to a decision. If they do sell it, each one of his children will receive about $220,000.
When his daughters keep questioning his motives and arguing with him, he loses his temper, which leads to Julia leaving. It turns the mood sour for a while until Alan and Dan restore peace.
Leo then goes after Julia and stops her from leaving, and the family celebrates the engagement of Teresa, their house help.
Familia ending explained in detail:
The factors influencing their decision to sell the ranch
Leo tells his daughters that each of them will get one vote, whereas Benny and Leo will share a vote.
He assures them that he will only sell the ranch and the house if the majority agrees. He then asks his daughters what they will do with the money if they do agree to sell.
Julia now realizes that she has hurt her husband enough and that she should not have married him in the first place. She is going to divorce her husband, so she will need the money to start afresh.
Mariana is going to be a single mother, so she will use the money to raise her child.
Unlike her sisters, Rebeca does not need the money. She reveals that she applied to become the head of the Anesthesiology Department at a hospital in Chicago.
Rebeca and her family will be moving to Chicago in a few months. While her family is happy for her, they are upset because of the fact that they will not get to meet her as often as they do right now.
The father of Mariana’s child
After the meal, the sisters get a chance to talk alone. They laugh together while talking about the past, their parents, and their fears.
They also discuss Benny’s future. They are all prepared to take care of their brother after their father, but Rebeca is the most likely to take him in.
As the conversation progresses, Rebeca and Julia insist that Mariana reveal the identity of her baby’s father.
It turns out that Mariana slept with her father’s biggest competitor, Memo Betancourt, the man their father despises.
Mariana fears what her father will do once he finds out the truth, which is why she has been keeping this from everyone. She has not even told Memo about her pregnancy.
Complicated relationships and difficult choices
Despite everything that happened, the day ends on a happy note. Leo’s daughters say goodbye to him, and Mariana promises to tell him their decision in a few days.
Mariana also tells her father that she is having a boy and that she is naming him after her father.
Mariana believes that her father is never going to sell the ranch, no matter what his daughters say.
She then admits to Mónica that she wants her to be there when she gives birth to her baby. However, for that to happen, she must decide whether she wants Mónica to be her family.
Rebeca always complains about her family after spending time with them. This time is no different. She believes that she will be happy in Chicago.
Dan, on the other hand, thinks that Rebeca will want to be with her family when she is in Chicago. He believes that life always seems better somewhere else.
Amandita speaks to her father on the phone and tells him about her mother’s plan to use the money that she will get from the sale of the ranch to go to Europe.
Julia and her husband must decide whether they want to stay together or get divorced.
Spending time with Leo’s family makes Clara realize that Leo’s world is overwhelming.
She tells him that she needs some time to think about their relationship and whether she wants to be a part of his world. That night, Leo does not feel alone, as he has Benny with him.
When Leo takes a walk on his property, he sees his dead wife. He knows that it is just his imagination, but it leaves him with a smile on his face.
The ranch drags Leo back to the past every day, but the memories of the past are not always painful, which means that Mariana could be right about her father never selling the ranch.
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