Ema

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.

Larrain's movie Ema is very difficult to rate. It does have the potential of being an absolute masterpiece, it has its distinct voice, but somehow it did not convince me.

Ema has a wonderful technical style, it must be said. The photography is astounding, as is the coerography and the music that is featured in the movie. Larrain's crew definitely achieved something outstanding from that point of view. The cast was also wonderful. Bothe the lead actress and the veteran actor Gael Garcia Bernal gave us wonderful performances. It was particularly refreshing for me to see Bernal as a more mature character rather than the youngster he is well known for in Cuaron and Inarritu's movies.

It is hard to describe Ema's plot without spoiling the whole movie. What I can say is that Ema is about a woman, a modern dancer with a rebellious soul, which leads her to destructive tendencies (not self-destructive, I think this must be underlined). The film is literally mostly a portrayal of an unique female character, which is something undeniably positive, but it also has a very thin plot, that at the middle of the film seems to lead nowhere (although the action does have an ending of sorts). Ema is mostly a character study, but from a distance (the stoic approach of the performances doesn't allow the viewer to enter Ema's or the other character's thoughts). There is a touch of symbolism (pointed to by the beginning and ending scenes), but it felt either too evident, simple or too enigmatic to grasp.

It wouldn't surprise me if Ema ends up receiving a nomination in the Foreign Films category in the Oscars or any other award, because it most definitely is outstanding, but somehow, for once, I have to say that it wasn't exactly my cup of tea.

Some youngsters may get something out of this, certainly more than I. Somewhat alienated by the overlong 'dance' sequence at the start and the introduction of a most unattractive looking women who struck me as psychotic from the start did not bode well. As things became a little clearer regarding the 'lost' child, so concerns for all around the mother grew. Mixed with the horrors of the limitless damage a ruthless, manipulative and vengeful, crazy woman might wreak we have pyrotechnics. At once spectacular and diverting they also added to the feeling that all was terribly wrong. Unfortunately as the troubled Ema insinuated herself within the lives of those she wished to influence story development is paused for sex scenes. I understand that no film from Chile may be considered complete without such scenes and here they were well done but sat most uncomfortably within the story supposedly around the fate of a young boy. Not terrible then but for me this seemed confused and unfocused.

The image, the colors and the music is the only good thing about this movie. Unnatural dialogues make the movie look too baggy and fake. The relationships between the characters were also SO unreal that they made one as a spectator not connect with them. As always in Chilean movies, it is full of sex scenes. It seems that the writer took advantage and gave himself the fetish to see all the young Chilean actresses of the moment naked and kissing each other. I highlight the performance of Mariana Di Girolamo in her first leading role in the cinema. 5/10.

It could be the illegitimate offspring of Lynch, Almodovar and Gaspar Noe baked at Fahrenheit 451 for good measure. Tricky to align with reality, thought provoking nonetheless, beautifully acted and imaginative.