Ema

Pros: 1. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, especially considering the colour gradient and the superb slow camera movements. 2. Both Gael García Bernal (Gastón) and Mariana Di Girolamo (Ema) both give fantastic performances. 3. The dance scenes are greatly choreographed and are completely entrancing. 4. The emotional scenes between Ema and Gastón conversing about their failings with Polo (Cristián Suárez) and their relationship since Polo, land powerfully. 5. The score is mesmerising and it lathers the movie in emotional richness, and is always utilised effectively. 6. The sex scenes are incredibly sensual, intimate, and they succinctly highlight the depth of where Ema will go for Polo.

Cons: 1. The pacing is a little too slow at certain points, with some scenes lasting too long. 2. The plot is rather unfocused at times and it sometimes loses its way in regards to the story-telling. 3. The flame-thrower scenes, although visually enrapturing, are utterly pointless.

Larrain has done better movies. This time, there's less to it than meets the eye and ear. The scenic city of Valparaiso is the best actor in the movie, while the pulsing soundtrack overplays its hand.

You can enjoy the dry humour, the local culture and swiftly shifting alliances, but the main problem is the eponymous female lead. Whose intersecting compulsions of narcissism, pyromania, dancing, and evil-doing, are sometimes hard to follow and not always easy to believe.

Self-absorbed Ema thinks she is a fascinating character. The director rather agrees - but he doesn't always make the case to the viewer.

A traffic light burns late at night in Valparaiso. This strange opening scene sets an unusual and colorful tone for the rest of Ema. Gradually it is understood how the light caught fire. Mysterious undercurrents and unusual passions swirl in human hearts. Dialogue, setting, music, dance scenes and characters follow similar rhythms and are typified most by Ema herself. She is a ball of fire. Energetic, devious and unpredictable, she prowls the streets of Valparaiso seeking sparks to reignite her damaged marriage, abandonment of her adopted son, struggling dance career and volatile self.

Sometimes there is no script. This is true in acting as well as life. According to Pablo Larrain at the Toronto international film festival, the actors received plot cues only at the last minute. Fluidity and dynamism were the results. The actors explored a new language. Traditional boundaries were also pushed with sexuality, family, the atmospheric and hypnotic music, dance and more. The film toys with notions of what is feminine and masculine. Mariana di Girolamo (Ema) is perfect for the role. Gael Garcia Bernal (Ema's hubby Gaston) is reunited with Pablo Larrain (nominated for three Oscars for the film Jackie). While I prefer thought and depth to the dialogue, the non-scripted acting achieves some intriguing results. The Valparaiso scenery is as thrilling as Mariana di Girolamo.

Larrain is an excellent film maker and there is craft on display here for sure, visually, and with elements of the score (not the Reggaeton - it is almost worth watching to hear Bernal's rant against what is certainly the worst musical genre on earth), but this is a chore. No element of the story really grabs, the main character is obnoxious and irritating, and the rest are neither here nor there. Probably a 4.5 but I'll give the benefit as there are moments. Hopefully his next will be a return to form. In the meantime I'll watch Jackie again.

I have mixed feelings about Ema - the film, and Ema - the main character. In both respects, there are great strengths and great weaknesses.

Ema is a young female dancer, who is married to her older, impotent choreographer (Gael Garcia Bernal). We learn early on that they adopted a boy called Polo, but gave him back after finding he had destructive tendencies. These tendencies are in Ema as well, and she is blamed by her husband and others for their failure at parenthood. So Ema decides to go on an anarchic rampage, literally blazing everything in her way. However, by the end of this story we realise that there is a method in her madness. She has worked out, in her own bizarre way, how to get exactly what she wants, and the plot quite cleverly ties up all the loose ends.

The cinematography will make your jaw drop at times, it's visually breathtaking and even the most ordinary scenes are beautifully framed and coloured. Nicolas Jaar's soundtrack is the sensual icing on the cake that draws you further in. The acting throughout is impressive, especially the lead played by Mariana Di Girólamo. She portrays the troubled but ultimately free spirit with a confident, seductive swagger. So far so good.

I think the main problem with the film is it's tone. It's confused. At no point do I know what to feel about any of the characters, and by the end I don't really care. This is particularly a problem with Ema. What are her intentions? Is she sympathetic, selfish, or unknowable? It seems that Larrain wants her to remain a mystery, but there's really not enough emotional depth to her character. She just comes across as impulsive and reckless. We find out what she really wants at the end, but it should have been obvious throughout. Then I might have believed that she actually cared about something. Gael Garcia Bernal is also wasted as a bitter but pathetic husband who contributes very little to the story.

Most of the film comes across as pretentious and showy. This is fine when it turns into a musical with extraordinary choreography, but it's lacking elsewhere. Likewise the cinematography often feels more like a music video or fashion promo, aesthetically spectacular but all surface value.

It's a shame, because if Larrain was more intent on guiding us through this story rather than shutting us out, it could have been a modern classic. Instead he decides to leave us lost and stranded along the way, without much clue of why anything is happening or where we are going. There's a big difference between mystery and confusion.

Having said that, there's still much to love about this film and I would recommend it to anyone. There's plenty to enjoy along the way, even if it is often irritating.