EMA from Chile

Wow. Wow. Wow. What an incendiary performance in this South American film. Newly released here in the U.S., the film is called EMA and Ema is played by Mariana Di Girólamo. To give you an idea of this actress' skill and intensity, I'll put it like this: If EMA had been a popular film in America in 2018 and if Carey Mulligan had been unavailable for the lead role in 2020's PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, Mariana Di Girólamo would've been a perfect candidate for the part.

The opening image is a stop sign at night that has been set ablaze. Then, in daytime, we see Blonde Ema walking down a city street with an older woman. They're having a strong disagreement. We shall see Ema disagree and argue with others in this story. Notice that others will apologize or take responsibility for some action that caused friction. But Ema never does. She's a dancer. We see her in a couple of troupes. One is professional and was headed by her husband. The next one, not as professional and one she joins now that she's taken steps to get a divorce , is more reggaeton. Like hip-hop. In neither troupes does she partner. She dances with others but individually -- not like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers did, not like couples on DANCING THE THE STARS do. Ema is independent, tough, manipulative, caustic and she can occasionally be cruel to the point of seeming unhinged. But there is a pain in her heart, a pain the husband knows. When she's zinging out caustic comments, he can immediately halt that bad behavior with a sentence reminding her of that hidden pain. We see, in her eyes, that his aim was true. She's wounded. We see the flash of hurt and vulnerability in her eyes.

We see their detachment in the way scenes are shot. When they talk, when they argue, we do not see them together in a two-shot.  Each is shot individually in a close-up talking to the camera. Then it cuts to the other character for a response. This underscores Ema's emotional separation in the same way she never dances with a partner. These scenes call to mind Ingmar Bergman films of the 1960s and early 70s.

Ema and Gastón were married but could not have a child. It turned out that he was sterile. She calls him an "infertile pig" and later verbally cuts him with "You are a human condom." The married couple decided to adopt a little boy. The boy acted out with some disturbing behavior. He seemed to be a pyromaniac. That would've made him a perfect child for Ema who seems to go through life setting fire to her relationships. The boy loves her very much but she can't deal with his drama and returns him to the agency. Someone says "Perhaps you're not cut out to be a mother." She's guilt-ridden that she abandoned the boy and was irresponsible. Gastón is also guilty and admits the mistake. She never really does. She says things that dance around an apology or an admission of guilt.

Her hip-hop dancing moves seems to reflect her sex life. Assertive, aggressive, not coming from true warm emotions. She manipulates herself into an affair with a married man, she has an affair with her female divorce lawyer and she goes horizontal with just about every woman in her hip-hop troupe. If she doesn't see the emptiness in all this, Gastón does. He's mostly unsmiling. Not deadpan, mind you. It's just that life has not presented him reasons to smile. A handsome man, he speaks in a low, polite voice. He's rather reserved -- until he blows up in a fabulous rant to Ema and few members of her female posse.  Gastón is terrifically played by the gifted, intelligent Gael Garcia Bernal, one of my favorite actors. This film is from Chile and it's subtitled. It was directed by Pablo Larrain.

Larrain, a Chilean filmmaker, directed Natalie Portman as famed First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in JACKIE (2016). This year, Kristin Stewart got raves and Oscar buzz at the Venice Film Festival for her performance as Britain's late Princess Diana in SPENCER, directed by Larrain.

Polo, the little orphan boy, will reappear. Will Ema take him back into her life? Will she stop setting fire to her relationships? We hope that she does. A couple of aspects in the film might be a bit far-fetched, but just give yourself over to the performances. The truth the actors give their characters carries you over those moments in this good movie. The film runs 1:47. It has sex and nudity. More than that, it has two excellent performances thanks to Mariana Di Girólamo and Gael Garcia Bernal.