A Fantastic Woman - Sebastián Lelio (2017)

Since the beginning of cinema, there have been countless films about bigotry, prejudice, and hate. Some are political and others more personal and intimate. Sometimes, we see stories of men and women who struggle just for their basic right to love and be loved. And when tragedy hits, everyone mourns and grieve just like anybody else.

Marina Vidal (Daniala Vega), is a young, transgender woman in a relationship with Orlando (Francisco Reyes), a man thirty-years her elder. The two of them are taking a giant step together. She is moving in with him.

At Marina's birthday celebration, with the Chilean nightlife as its backdrop, Orlando and Marina share an intimate dinner, complete with just the right gift. As one would expect, dancing and love-making follow.



Then, for no apparent reason, Orlando suffers some sort of attack. Panicked, Marina helps him into the car as best as she can, though, at one point, he fell down some stairs, in spite of Marina's help.

He dies in the hospital from an aneurysm. Marina is told about an abrasion on Orlando's head he'd sustained when he fell. They connect it and its possible connection with Orlando's death.

Immediately, the police show up to question Marina. The investigator (Amparo Noguera) wants to know what Orlando was paying Marina. The assumption that Marina's a prostitute is already established in her mind.

The so-called investigation would better be referred to as an exercise in cruelty when the investigator decides that Marina's sex is relevant. It leads up to one of the most crushingly humiliating experiences of her life. It's very hard to watch. Of course, Orlando's family were the ones to call the cops in the first place.

That's just the start of Marina's world crashing down on her head. First, she's alone in the world, she's lost her lover. Now, she's a target, a punching bag meant to absorb the grief of other people.

When Orlando's ex-wife Sonja, (Aline Kuppenheim), comes to claim his car, she gives Marina harsh instructions. She is not to come to the wake or the burial. Why? Sonja answers with honesty and sincerity. Sonja believes Marina is a perversion. Sonja's offended at the thought of someone she cares about being with the girl. Marina's very existence seems to offend her. She tells her that she's a perversion.

When Marina shows up at the wake anyway, Sonja stands up and shouts. Marina is shamed in public and reluctantly leaves. Orlando's family, his son, ex-wife, granddaughter, all except his brother persist in mistreating her.

All of this is happening to her while she's still in the throes of grief. She is stunned with mourning and still being told she doesn't have the basic right to grieve.
"A Fantastic Woman" brings up an interesting question. Does a family in mourning have the right to tell somebody who loved him deeply that they will not allow her to say goodbye? The film explores the answers delicately and with care.

Yes, the film is muted and maddening at the same time. Lelio manages to find the intimate and very human side of grief.  It's this year's entry from Chile for Best Foreign Language Film. It's already been celebrated around the world on the Festival Circuit.

Now, "A Fantastic Woman" is getting some recognition in the States because of the Oscar Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. "A Fantastic Woman" is a treasure and is fittingly getting the attention it deserves.