A sweet Spanish movie about depression and anxiety shows up? Of course, we got to give it a watch. Follow My Voice, or Sigue Mi Voz, tells the story of Klara, who hasn’t been able to leave home after being severely bullied at school because of her anxiety. Klara’s only solace in this troubling time is the voice of a radio host, a boy named Kang. Klara feels connected to Kang somehow, and she feels at ease when she listens to him. It’s when Klara calls Kang one night when she’s alone, instead of her sister, and he helps calm her down that she decides to step outside the house and try to go back to school. And what do you know? Kang goes to the same school. Klara and Kang’s closeness is organic. In the process, she also makes other friends, but if that were it, it wouldn’t be much of a movie, really. There are some conflicts and some stressful things that threaten to ruin what Kang and Klara have. Will they be okay? Will they be able to get over it? Let’s find out in the ending of Follow My Voice.
Spoiler Alert
What Triggered Klara’s Anxiety?
I think Klara’s anxiety stems from a bunch of factors. For one, the premature death of her mother from cancer, and then her having cancer as well. I couldn’t understand how Diego’s father and Klara were friends initially, but then, we see them getting treatment together, and it’s cemented when Klara shows Kang her mastectomy scars. That’s when I realized she was sick in more than one way, and it was probably because of the cancer that people in school started treating her differently, which eventually snowballed into bullying, which led to her being anxious and depressed. Fortunately, in this school, Klara immediately makes friends, and the one person, Yana, who tries to sabotage that by using her sickness as a weapon against her, gets put in her place by everybody. She even gets called out by her own friends because what she’s doing is completely wrong. It’s not Klara’s fault she’s sick, and there’s nothing wrong with seeking treatment and curing yourself.
What Happened to Kang’s Brother?
Kang’s depression probably comes from losing his brother at a young age, too. He feels guilty that he couldn’t protect his brother from being hurt because he couldn’t play football anymore. Being so young and feeling alone isn’t great, and Kang found his outlet through music. However, he’s only able to write his own when he meets Klara, and they actually start talking. It’s all very sweet, because they helped each other get out of their own slumps. So technically, even if Kang’s show is called “Follow My Voice,” Klara’s voice helped him heal, too.
Why Does Klara Wear a Wig?
It’s interesting to note that Klara’s wearing a wig despite having her own hair that’s grown back after the chemo and surgery. I think Klara’s hiding from herself, maybe because it reminds her of her mother, or maybe she’s just embarrassed by the whole thing. More importantly, Klara wears this wig at home too. For the first half of the film, we don’t even know she’s wearing a wig. It’s only when she finally feels at home with Kang and her friends, accepting herself for who she truly is, that she decides to take it off. It’s a symbol of acceptance and telling the world that she’s doing better, because the wig was a way for her to hide behind a curtain. That’s what it acted as. Klara finally taking her wig off is her way of telling everybody she’s well and happy. Not only does Klara take off her wig, but she also shows Kang, her first love, the mastectomy scars as well. A way to open up her heart to him, and he accepts her with open arms. This is a huge step for Klara, who, a little while earlier, couldn’t even step outside her home.
Why Doesn’t Klara Go To Madrid?
When Klara and Kang first start talking, he tells her he wants to go to a music competition in Madrid, and would love for her to go with him. Just like he gave her strength, he hopes she can be around for him, too. However, despite having overcome a lot of her fears and anxieties, Klara still isn’t comfortable with the idea of going to another city, even if it is for Kang. This leaves their relationship a little bit broken, but the mature king that Kang is, he realizes she’s not doing any of this on purpose and that she’s actually still hurting. So, he decides to show himself on video instead of hiding away and reassures Klara that he’ll be thinking of her when he’s on stage, because not only did he help her, she helped him too. Turns out, the radio show was part of his therapy too, which means Kang and Klara had more in common than they thought.
In Follow My Voice’s ending, Klara and her 3 friends, who are the most wonderful people (I love that Diego wasn’t a villain or a parallel love interest), all head to Madrid to see Kang perform. The song is obviously dedicated to Klara, and after he finishes singing, they kiss in the middle of the audience, getting back together for good and solidifying their bond. It’s a beautiful surprise. But the best part of Follow My Voice isn’t the fact that Kang and Klara get together, though that’s great too. It’s the fact that the film uses art as a form of therapy. For Klara, it’s painting, and at the end of the film, she’s used colors to represent how she’s been feeling after having stepped out of the house for the same number of days she was stuck in it. Painting is her thing. In the end, the voice that Klara must follow isn’t Kang’s but her own. That’s how she’s able to tell everyone how she feels and express her true growth (so beautiful). I love that she also talks about how, while love was a part of her healing process, it wasn’t the thing that cured her. It was a combination of everything that she’s been through, including therapy, having the support of her family, her art, Kang, and her lovely friends. So while love isn’t the anti-anxiety drug we all hope it is, it’s definitely a part of the overall treatment. Taking therapy seriously is also a massive part of getting better, and this movie shows that a little bit of everything can take you a long way. So finally, we get a happy ending with Klara smiling her widest smile. Not only did she find love, but she also learned to love herself, which is the most important thing of all.
