An ftl file could just have a series of html tags just as a JSP page or it can have freemarker template coding for representing the objects passed on from a controller java file.
But, its actual ability is to combine the contents of a java class and view/client side stuff(html/ JQuery/ javascript etc). It is quite similar to velocity. You could map a method or object of a class to a freemarker (.ftl) page and use it as if it is a variable or a functionality created in the very page.