Ema

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.