The House of the Spirits (Danish: Åndernes hus) is a 1993 period drama film directed by Bille August and starring Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Winona Ryder, Antonio Banderas and Vanessa Redgrave. The supporting cast includes María Conchita Alonso, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Jan Niklas. Based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Isabel Allende, the film follows three generations of women from a Chilean family during the country’s military dictatorship.
Although the film won several awards in Europe, including Best Film at the Lola Awards from the German Film Academy and the Robert Award from the Danish Film Academy, in America it was regarded as a critical and commercial failure.
Plot
The story is narrated by Blanca Trueba, a young woman from a powerful Chilean family.
1926
Blanca's mother, Clara del Valle is a child from a well-off family in Santiago whose father is running for the Senate. Clara possesses clairvoyant abilities and foresees her own marriage to Esteban Trueba, a miner.
Esteban uses the gold he found from mining to buy a hacienda, Tres Marías. He employs natives to work as peasants on the dilapidated land, eventually turning Tres Marías into a successful estate through his use of brute force. One day while horseback riding through the countryside, he sees a peasant girl, Pancha García. Esteban rapes Pancha, resulting in the illegitimate birth of a boy. He also spends nights with Tránsito, a local prostitute to whom he lends money so she can start a new career in the capital.
1946
Twenty years later, Esteban’s sister Férula informs him that their ailing mother has died. At his mother’s funeral, Esteban sees a grown Clara and reacquaints himself with her. The couple marry, and Clara and Férula become especially close, with Clara allowing Férula to come live with her and her new husband at Tres Marías.
Clara eventually gives birth to a girl, naming her Blanca. One day, Pancha García appears at the family estate with her now teenaged son, Esteban García, asking his father for money. Esteban Trueba gives them some money but harshly turns them away. Esteban’s rejection leads his son to nurse a resentment against his father and Blanca.
Meanwhile, Blanca befriends one of the peasant children, Pedro Tercero, the young son of Esteban's foreman Segundo. Esteban disapproves of his daughter playing with a peasant boy and sends her to a boarding school.
1962
After graduating from boarding school, Blanca returns to Tres Marías and reunites with Pedro, meeting him by the river every night. Férula continues to live with the family and has become a rival to her brother for Clara’s affections. Esteban throws Férula out of the house when he catches her and Clara asleep in the same bed. Before leaving, Férula curses Esteban to eternal loneliness.
Esteban catches Pedro preaching revolutionary ideas that are critical of wealthy landowners like him to the peasant workers. He punishes Pedro with a whipping and banishment from Tres Marías. That night at dinner, Clara and Blanca see a vision of Férula while having dinner. Férula kisses Clara on the forehead before calmly walking out. Realizing Férula has died, Clara drives into town to find Férula dead in her modest home. In a moment alone with Férula, Clara tells her how much she and Blanca miss her, and how proud she would be of Blanca.
Blanca continues to meet Pedro in secret. Jean de Satigny, a French nobleman who aspires to go into business with Esteban, sees Blanca and Pedro in a tryst at the river and rats her out to her father. Esteban punishes Blanca by whipping her and vows to go after Pedro. He strikes Clara when she points out his hypocrisy—having himself slept with women not of his own class—after which Clara vows never to speak to him again. She leaves Tres Marías with Blanca to live in Santiago.
Esteban offers a monetary reward for anyone who can reveal Pedro's whereabouts to him. Esteban García, unrecognized by his father, aids in helping to find Pedro. Pedro is able to escape from Esteban, who declines to give a reward to his son. Esteban later learns Blanca is pregnant with Pedro's child, and he goes to her house to falsely tell her that he murdered Pedro. Clara makes Esteban leave and reassures Blanca that Pedro is indeed alive, but they won't be reunited for some time because he needs to flee to safety. Years later, Esteban goes to Clara and apologizes for his actions. Though she maintains some distance from him, she does allow him to meet their seven-year-old granddaughter Alba and to be a part of her and Blanca’s lives again.