In a nutshell

This Chilean drama revolves around a young transgender singer and waitress Marina whose older boyfriend suddenly dies and leaves her to face ridicule and abuse from his family. Refused the right to grieve scorned Marina is trying to find her own path to peace.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5639354/

Force majeure

The irresistible strength and beauty of the film’s opening shots, showing close-ups of a grand waterfall in full glow with Matthew Herbert’s delicate score narrating in the background, set the scene aptly for the superior character that is the titular fantastic woman. Marina, portrayed with cold brilliance by Chilean transgender actress and singer Daniela Vega.

On the same night as Marina is celebrating her birthday, her partner Orlando (Francisco Reyes) unexpectedly dies after being rushed to hospital after waking in the middle of the night feeling unwell. Orlando’s ex-wife (Aline Kuppenheim) and son (Nicolás Saavedra) prohibit Marina from attending the wake and the funeral as it becomes clear they do not accept the woman’s sexual identity.

Vega’s Marina is left with no time to grieve her loved one as she constantly has to fight her corner: with Orlando’s physically and emotionally abusing family, with the hospital staff suspecting she had something to do with his sudden death and the police who are quick to humiliate startled Marina when she refuses to collaborate. As the story develops and Marina faces more obstacles on her path to find peace, she transforms into a force majeure everyone should pay attention to.

Magic realism

The film’s more poignant moments come as a welcomed breather in the constant tension between the main character and the world around her: Marina’s cheerleader-like dancing in a nightclub or her almost horizontal leaning on a strong wind. In moments like this, the tile A Fantastic Woman is less about passing judgement on the main character and more about a woman with a great fantasy.

These scenes not only bring Almodóvar aesthetic to the palate – Spanish film director Vega was quoted as keen on working with – but also encapsulate the story of Marina perfectly. At first glance, she seems both aloof and a bit too forceful but having had a peek into her daily life, we have to wonder whether this is just the wall she has built around her over the years of funny looks and mistreatment. Vega’s ability to hold the camera and convey this life story in little words is astounding and makes her peerless.

Las mujeres

Focus on strong females is not new to the film’s director, Sebastián Lelio, whose Gloria (2013) won Paulina García Best Actress award in Berlin, as it is not to its co-producer and Lelio’s often collaborator Pablo Larraín, responsible for Jackie (2016) with Natalie Portman.

Vega’s beautiful and strong Marina does not let anyone change her path, not even the closest family, as she takes all the punches from authorities and Orlando’s family, only to dust herself off and continue the stride. The ending, however, feels like it deserved a stronger note to finish off this unruly display of injustice.

A+ casting, at last

A Fantastic Woman is Vega’s feature debut for which she has won several accolades on the festival circuit, with the film itself winning an Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film a few weeks ago and making history as the first Chilean film to do so. What is even greater to see is a transgender actress portraying a role of a transgender woman, something that award-winning Dallas Buyers Club or Transamerica – however compelling they were – didn’t get right.

It seems hard to imagine anyone with a pinch of empathy not falling for Marina, championing her every step and wishing slow death to her imprudent foes, yet it is staggering to realise how rare such characters in a contemporary film are and however rarer it is for them to be portrayed by transgender people. To call this film timely does not seem right, it is long overdue.

Verdict

Socially aware and universal, A Fantastic Woman is a beautifully acted, moving depiction of injustice and one woman’s fight against the marginalising society. Cannot wait to see what Daniela Vega does next.