A Fantastic Woman

"A Fantastic Woman" is Chile's submission to the Academy Awards for the category of Best Foreign Film. The film tells the story of a transgender woman, Marina, who is suddenly cast into a state of mourning after her older boyfriend Orlando died suddenly and unexpectedly. She must confront and come to terms with Orlando's immediate and extended family members as well, who are just as shocked by the tragic loss as she is but generally unaccepting of her gender identity.

Sebastian Lelio delivers a well-directed film that makes good usage of simple but exquisite technical and editing tactics. The acting in the film is quite strong throughout, and the script is also well-written. Daniela Varga's lead performance is excellent, as she portrays Marina with a genuine sense of melancholy. She is able to enable the audience to feel a deep-seated, full-throated sense of empathy as well--one which we can only wish the characters she interacts with during the film's duration could have towards her in return. The tone on display in the film is somber and very bleak, but distinctly and genuinely rooted in reality. Such tone is supported--and exacerbated (in a good way)--by the simple score and aesthetic qualities we see. The chronology of the film's narrative is rather bizarre, as is the juxtaposition of some scenes and brief interludes. Otherwise, this is a generally well-made film. 7/10

The movie relies heavily on the performance of Daniela Vega (Marina) and thankfully she give it, all because the movie centered about her sad and depressing situation and sometimes it's very difficult to watch and how other people reacts to her, the performance was good and it's truly a star-making performance. What's didn't make it fantastic movie is the script because ther is alot of weird things happened like the seeing ghosts and weird visions and a side plot that didn't go anywhere unfortunately, a very confusing thing happened let me just refer to it "Transphobic Car Ride". Unfortunately the movie is little bit long, the pacing is little bit weak and don't have the rewatchability factor. In the end A Fantastic Women put the light on a community that deserves more movies to see their personal journeys and lives.

The transgender heroine is a wonderfully complex, defiant and passionate character. One who keeps her poise and dignity in the most trying of circumstances.

She endures every kind of humiliation imaginable. And regardless of the story's sexual politics, Marina is the type of heroine that any audience will root for. Lelio conveys her courage and endurance to have her right to mourn for the man she loved. And to express her own independence.

It's hard to even talk about LGBT matters in a country like Chile, so is exactly right there the significance of Sebastian Lelio's work. The characterizations are so well performed by the actors and actresses, that you can feel the anger and frustration of Marina, the love that Orlando feels for her, the everyday struggle of Marina in a society that rejects her sexuality, the hate from Orlando's family, etc.

Is necessary a movie like this, is necessary a more open-mind society, is necessary to stop discrimination, is necessary to stop the hate.

A fantastic woman, is ready to show the audience that there is no differences between a transgender person and a heterosexual one, the strong main character of Marina, will make you feel her never-ending fight to gain some respect, and how bad we, as society, make her feel.

Thanks to Sebastian Lelio for bring this taboo to the light. Excellent work.

Marina Vidal (Daniela Vega) is a transgender woman and aspiring singer in her twenties and living in Santiago, Chile. After the death of her lover, a man in his fifties with an ex-wife and an adult son, Marina is left alone in dealing with her grief and the aftermath of the death.

In addition to the burden of grief, Marina must also deal with humiliating and prejudicial situations around her transgender status. She subtly shows an attitude of "I hate having to go through this again but I can." Interestingly, her transgender status is used to her advantage in a later scene in the film.

Vega is in nearly every scene of the film and must carry it on her shoulders. She does the job superbly. She ably conveys awkwardness and vulnerability as her character attempts to maintain what is rightfully hers while being aware that many battles may not be won.

Much of the film follows Marina as she journeys through the city's urban atmosphere to numb her pain. The last quarter of the film takes a different twist that is less interesting than what precedes it. But "A Fantastic Woman" is a good film overall mainly due to the subtle skills of its lead performer. - dbamateurcritic