The Spanish Netflix film, Firebreak, is the perfect blend of disaster and mystery. Disaster dramas have become rather conventional, but thankfully, Firebreak breaks the mold and delivers a gripping experience. The wildfire is, of course, central to the story, but what's also interesting is how its spread becomes a symbol of the growing anguish of a mother searching for her missing daughter. Mara had recently lost her husband to a terminal illness and had decided to sell their cabin in the woods. Mara, her daughter Lide, her brother-in-law Luis, his wife Elena, and their son Dani went to the cabin for the day. They were busy clearing the cabin, and it was clear that Mara was struggling to cope with her husband's death.
Mara and her family noticed ash falling from the sky like snowflakes. They immediately turned on the radio and discovered there was a wildfire nearby. They decided to gather their belongings and leave as quickly as possible before the situation worsened. Mara was busy packing her belongings and reacted arrogantly when her daughter refused to accept that they wouldn't be staying at the cabin. Mara had promised Lide they would say goodbye to the forest, and the little girl refused to leave without doing so.
Director: David Victori
Writers: Javier Echániz, Asier Guerricaechebarría, Jon Iriarte
Stars: Joaquín Furriel, Belén Cuesta, Diana Gómez
She felt disappointed when her mother refused to keep her promise and decided it was best to say goodbye to the forest alone. That was the last time Mara saw her daughter. She wasn't home, so she assumed Lide might be hiding in the makeshift cabin she had built with her father. Well, she was right; Lide had been there, but she wasn't in the cabin anymore. She had left behind some framed photos of herself and her father. The cabin was very important to her, and she wanted to spend some time alone there. Since Lide knew the way back home from the cabin, Mara couldn't understand how she had gotten lost.
Mara's eccentric neighbor, Santiago, mentioned that he had seen her at the cabin when he passed by. He had offered her a ride, but she insisted on spending more time at the cabin. Santi had informed her about the fire, and the little girl had told him she would be home soon. Mara wondered why Santi wasn't acting more responsibly. Considering the situation, she believed he should have been more persistent. The police had deployed several search teams to find Lide, but as the fire spread, they decided to hold off until it was safe to return to the forest.
Mara and her family were advised to leave, but of course, they couldn't drive knowing the eight-year-old girl was trapped somewhere in the woods. Mara and Luis decided to search for Lide on their own. They decided to ask Santi for his car so that, in case of emergency, Elena could get out of the cabin with her son. When they arrived at Santi's door, Mara realized there was a small chance that Lide was hiding in his cabin. Santi thought it was highly unlikely, but just to put Mara's mind at ease, he allowed her and Luis inside. They searched the cabin and noticed that Santi had been making drugs with psychedelic mushrooms.
There was a locked door he refused to open, and that set Mara off. She became obsessed with discovering what was behind the locked door, and she convinced herself that she could find Lide there, especially after finding Lide's bracelet in Santi's car. Although he claimed that Lide had given it to him, Mara refused to believe him because he had given the bracelet to his daughter, and she used to wear it all the time. The ending revealed that Santi hadn't lied; Lide had given him the bracelet because she was angry with her mother that morning.
Mara and Luis knew time was running out. The fire was spreading rapidly, and they couldn't even contact the police because there was no cell service. They were panicking, both mentally and physically, because they were risking their lives by staying in the woods, and at the same time, they couldn't leave without finding Lide; they were trapped, with no help and no immediate solution. So, at that moment, they thought that if they directed all their aggression toward Santi, perhaps he would end up confessing the truth. Mara forced her way into Santi's house and, along with Luis, threatened to open the locked door.
Once inside, they discovered that he had been cultivating mushrooms that required a specific temperature and light, which is why he was afraid to let them in. Santi firmly believed that psychedelic drugs were good for healing and had dedicated a lot of time to understanding the process. When Mara discovered another small door in the room, she demanded that Santi open it. He told her it was his meditation room, and well, she didn't find anything suspicious, but that was before she saw the muddy boots and a shovel. She asked him why he had a shovel in his room and what he used it for. Luis had already assumed the worst and had tied Santi to a chair. With each passing second, they became more aggressive.
Luis checked Santi's phone and saw photos and videos of rituals. Some of the "clients" had texted him saying the "ritual" had worked wonders for them, and others mentioned he would end up in jail for it. In one video, he saw Santi digging a hole, and he wondered if he had buried Lide there. Luis started digging the hole hurriedly, while Mara repeatedly asked Santi where his daughter was. Santi was crying; he tried to explain in detail what had happened that morning, apologized for not insisting that Lide come with him, and hoped Mara would realize that he didn't have the answer she was looking for.
Santiago explained that those suffering physically or mentally came to him, and his mushrooms helped them heal. The ritual helped them leave their past lives behind and connect with cosmic forces. The drug helped them see more clearly and overcome their fear of dying. He saw a research article in the room that discussed the drug's effect on terminally ill patients. Mara immediately asked Santi if he had been with her husband the last time she visited the cabin in the woods. It turned out that Mara's husband, Gustavo, had also undergone this "ritual," giving her even more reason to punish Santi. Mara had noticed a significant change in her husband's behavior after his stay at the cabin.
He had completely given up on seeking treatment and blamed her for not wanting to get better. Although it was implied that her husband didn't have many options left—he could place all his hopes on experimental treatments or accept that his days were numbered—he chose the latter. Meanwhile, after digging the hole, Luis was relieved to discover he had made a mistake. Elena couldn't believe her husband was holding a man captive in their own home, and she sensed that Luis and Mara weren't in their right minds.
They were desperate, anxious, and paranoid, acting impulsively. Elena tried to reason with them, but they refused to listen. Their son, Dani, didn't understand what was happening and ended up going into the room where Santi was being held captive. Santi begged the boy to untie him and tried to explain how the adults had made a mistake. Dani freed him, and fearing Santi would escape, Mara locked the room. Luis couldn't believe Mara was willing to risk her son's life just to prevent Santi from escaping.
As soon as he opened the door, Santi threatened to hurt the boy just to escape this madness. Santi tried to leave in Mara's van, but decided to free Dani after driving a short distance. Just as he was trying to help Dani out of the car, Luis and Mara grabbed him. Luis repeatedly punched Santi, and as soon as Mara managed to stop the fight, Santi attacked Luis from behind. Although he could have knocked him unconscious, Santi decided to stop. Enraged, Luis overpowered him and began hitting him again. Santi realized that if he didn't say exactly what they wanted to hear, they wouldn't let him live. So he lied about knowing where Lide was and intentionally led them toward the fire. The smoke and dust helped Santi hide from Luis and Mara.
Mara had made a mistake and planned to fix it. She returned to where she had left Santi; it was near the firebreak. When Santi regained consciousness, he didn't try to hurt her; instead, he hugged her. Even though he had been subjected to immense torture and psychological abuse, he felt compassion for Mara. He could sense how difficult and helpless the situation must have been for her, and although he wished things had been different, he didn't blame her for reacting the way she did. Even after arriving at the hospital with bruises on his face and being questioned by the police about who was responsible, he claimed a bear had attacked him.
He added that it was a defenseless mother bear trying to protect her cubs from the fire. He didn't believe a bear deserved to be behind bars. In the end, Santi chose forgiveness over holding a grudge. That night, through the smoke and fire, Mara saw a bear in the woods and perhaps wondered if it was the same one that had chased her daughter. She was awestruck by its power and amazed at how everything seemed connected in one way or another. The bear was simply trying to survive a disaster caused by a human invention. Mara couldn't blame it like Santi could, and perhaps in that moment she identified with its helplessness.
Everyone was trying to survive and protect their loved ones. Mara was eventually rescued by the firefighters, and although the day was filled with panic and anxiety, in a strange way, Mara understood certain aspects of her life. She realized how harsh she had been with her husband when all she wanted was to ease his constant agony. She learned that decisions shouldn't be made based solely on assumptions, and that the truth is much more complex than it seems. In the final scene, we discover that Mara had returned to the cabin in the woods and was no longer afraid to go to Gustavo's workplace, where he had died. Santi stopped by to give her a flower he had brought for Lide.
It was an orange flame vine that only grows after a fire "among the ashes." It symbolized finding hope in despair, and perhaps she wanted to give it to Lide because the fire marked a new beginning for her and her mother. Before leaving, Mara thanked her for the flower and said she knew Lide would appreciate it. The brief conversation suggested that both Mara and Santi had decided to put the incident behind them and that, hopefully, if their paths ever crossed again, they would always treat each other with respect.
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