A Fantastic Woman (2018)

I don't read a lot about movies before I go see them, as sometimes even the plot synopsis gives too much away. This played to my favor in watch this Oscar nominated foreign movie from Chile, about a transgender woman trying to reclaims her inheritance when her boyfriend passes away from the family that never accepted her. It is the blackest of black comedies, interrupted by surreal dream like footage until one is left wondering which events are real and which are just symbols of oppression hurled at our main character. A great story and somewhat of a mystery at its core, the film is a joy to behold. Transgender actress Daniela Vega makes you feel her harsh reality in every scene.

AN ABSOLUTE WASTE OF MY I HOUR AND 30 MINUTES.........................................................................................................

Knowing a little of the story before hand I was not holding great hopes for this evening's cinema excursion. However, I was most pleasantly surprised from the opening music which lead us the steamy interior of the sauna where slowly, in the background, naked bodies could be seen imerging from the low lit darkness. Indeed one of the beauties of the film is the wonderful camera work. The shot in the elevator was worth the price of the ticket alone. Daniela Varga is a great actress and has to hold the audience's attention as she appears in almost every scene. She certainly held me in the palm of her hand and I had difficulty not taking my eyes off her. Daniela further exploited her talents by doing her own singing. The acting was superb from all the supporting cast but it was Daniela's film, with the help of Sebastian Lelio, of course.

I had expected 'The Square' to win the foreign language Oscar, and I had hoped 'On Body and Soul' would take home the award. I was wrong. Instead of the urgency of the former or the poetry of the latter, the jury chose the delicacy of 'Una Mujer Fantástica'. Probably, the choice has been as much inspired by the subject of the film as by the cinematographic quality of it. 'Una Mujer Fantástica' is a plea for mutual understanding, tolerance and kindness. And at the same time a condemnation of bigotry, prejudice and brutality. It can't be seen without having to think about the wave of intolerance against all kinds of minorities currently sweeping western societies. The fantastic woman who has given the film its title, is Marina Vidal, a woman in her twenties who is dating a businessman about twice her age. In spite of the age difference, they seem to be happy with each other. But it's not so much the age difference that is remarkable. Marina is a woman who has been a man before. In the first part of the film, this is not an issue at all. It's only after her lover suddenly dies, that Marina's gender becomes something peculiar. The medical staff, the police and, above all, her lover's relatives treat her with utmost distrust and suspicion. They won't even let her grieve, or attend the funeral. The film shows how Marina suffers from the way she is treated, and how she refuses to give in. She remains her proud self, and in the end gets what she wants: a decent goodbye to her deceased lover. The film doesn't fall into the trap of making the whole thing too sentimental. The director registers the events, with a certain amount of compassion, but without making a tearjerker of it. This is not a groundbreaking movie. But 'Una Mujer Fantástica' is without any doubt a well-written, well-directed and well-acted drama, with an underlying message that's hard not to agree with.