Wednesday, September 27, 2017

TIFF 17 Film Review - A Fantastic Woman

When we first meet Martina Vidal (Daniela Vega) she is in her element. A popular nightclub singer performing on stage with her lover Orlando (Francisco Reyes) in his late fifties watching her intently. Then the couple go out for a celebratory dinner for Orlando birthday where he mentions a lavish trip in the making. Following dinner they go home to Orlando’s apartment to celebrate when he suffers a medical emergency and dies thus spinning Martina’s world into complete turmoil.  Orlando has a family, a grown son, ex-wife, brother and cousins who never approved of their family members relationship with a transgendered person.  After Martina brings Orlando to the hospital in an attempt to save her life. She is treated as a criminal then pursued by a police detective who forces her to be stripped down to nudity at the station to be photographed amid questions of prostitution and abuse.


Director Sebastian Lelio continues to show that he is a storyteller to watch following his break out film Gloria. Again here he trains his lens on a female that is struggling outside of main stream society to keep her dignity and push forward. In Gloria the subject was a middle aged divorced woman. In this case it’s a late 20’s transgendered person who is shunned at every turn but wants closure of her relationship with her suddenly departed partner. The offering is also very timely as the debate on how to treat transgender persons socially and legally rages in several countries around the world. 
    
Transgendered Actress Daniela Vega is in just about every frame in the piece as Martina. She has a great inner strength to stand up for herself in just about every situation but in two scenes where she has direct dealings with the authorities they break her down to a tiny pebble. That treatment is worse than any open abuse or ridicule that she faces including a physical confrontation with Orlando’s son and some of his friends. She’s also suppressing real operatic talent as detailed in an exchange with her vocal coach who she visits in the turmoil following Orlando’s death.  

With A Fantastic Woman, Sebastian Lelio has established himself as a strong voice in world cinema. He again films mainly in his comfort zone in Santiago, Chile but has branched out with another film his first in English Disobedience with Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdam set in London that also screened at TIFF.  Lelio continues tell stories of strong female characters fighting for their individuality and fulfilment against the backlash of a patristic society.

**** Out of 4.

A Fantastic Woman | Sabastian Lelio | Chile | 2017 | 104 Minutes.


Tags: Birthday Celebration, Nightclub Singer, Waitress, Iguaza Falls, Aneurism, Sex Crimes Unit, Physical Exam, Key, Spa Locker, German Sheppard. 

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