Ava (2017) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The story unfolds in a sunlit coastal region centered around a traveling community. Key locations include a lively beach, a caravan site where the nomads camp, and a wedding venue on the same traveler site. The setting blends open seaside space with the intimate, precarious world of itinerant travelers.

• setting
• beach
• traveler community
• caravan
• location

Ava has Retinitis Pigmentosa, a progressive eye disease that is causing her to gradually lose her night vision and peripheral sight. Her condition is central to the film, as she is determined to live fully while she can still see, driven by a 'live life to the full' mentality.

• blindness
• retinitis pigmentosa
• sight loss
• vision

The film explores several interconnected themes: sight loss and how it shapes every choice Ava makes; the age gap romance between Ava and Juan that blurs lines between care and risk; crime and loyalty as they turn to robberies while being pursued by police; and nightmares that embody Ava's anxieties about losing sight and process her trauma.

• themes
• sight loss
• age gap
• crime
• loyalty
• nightmares

Juan is an 18-year-old traveler who falls in love with Ava. He is drawn to freedom and romance, and his willingness to take risks leads him into a spree of robberies with Ava. He is loyal to those he cares about and has a dog named Lupo who travels with him.

• juan
• traveler
• character
• lupo
• dog

The traveler community is a nomadic group that moves through the coastal region, camping at a caravan site. They organize events within their community, including weddings. Members like Jessica organize gatherings and maintain relationships across the group, with Jessica later facilitating Juan's escape.

• travelers
• caravan
• community
• wedding
• jessica

Ava's progressive blindness frames every choice she makes, forcing her to seek moments of meaning while she can still see. The film uses vision loss to explore resilience, memory, and the urgent desire to seize fleeting experiences before darkness closes in. Her condition shapes how she navigates relationships, fear, and longing.

• blindness
• vision
• symbolism
• resilience
• meaning

Ava is 13 years old while Juan is 18, and their romance sits at the heart of the narrative. Their relationship pushes them toward risky decisions in the name of freedom and affection. The dynamic tests boundaries and raises questions about consent and power, while their connection acts as a catalyst for growth and confrontation with consequence.

• age gap
• romance
• relationship
• consent
• juan

Ava's nightmares punctuate her nights, embodying her anxieties about losing sight and the risks of her choices. These dreamscapes blend with waking danger, foreshadowing threats and revealing her deepest fears. The nightmares function as a barometer of her mental state, illustrating the precarious balance between perception and reality.

• nightmares
• dreams
• fear
• anxiety
• trauma

The pair slide into a spree of robberies as a coping mechanism for sadness and a search for control. Pursuit by the police creates tension between love and law, forcing choices that may betray one another. The story probes whether devotion to a loved one can justify dangerous actions.

• robberies
• crime
• police
• loyalty
• desperation

Ava is determined to live fully while she can still see, coping with sadness and relentless nightmares. Her impulsive curiosity drives her to seek connection and adventure, pulling her into the travelers' world and into a dangerous alliance with Juan. Her condition shapes a desperate urgency in her choices.

• ava
• character
• motivation
• curiosity
• adventure