Cinema Prescription

Synopsis: A transgender singer faces scorn and discrimination after the sudden death of her older boyfriend.
Cast: Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes, Luis Gnecco, Aline Küppenheim, Amparo Noguera, Nicolás Saavedra
Screenplay: Sebastián Lelio, Gonzalo Maza
Directed by: Sebastián Lelio

Transgender characters in TV and movies have long been portrayed as token roles, and more often than not, used as crude caricatures. But not in the case of Sebastián Lelio’s compassionate study of resilience, A FANTASTIC WOMAN. A movie about one (trans) woman’s quiet, yet dignified, battle against humiliation and discrimination in the wake of a personal tragedy from a culture that still finds her identity unacceptable.

The movie would not work as fantastic as its title without the star-making performance of Daniela Vega. She gave a raw and heartbreaking turn as a woman struggling towards hostility yet never losing her own self-respect. Her reactions (or lack thereof) for being treated like a criminal over and over again really shows her strength as an individual, yet there’s also a sense of insecurities in every of her expression.

Without turning too political and becoming a pretentious social issues melodrama, Lelio navigates A FANTASTIC WOMAN into a heartfelt struggle of identity. Daniela Vega gave her character nothing but an innate humanity in a society which dehumanizes her. A fantastic movie about overcoming grief in a painful situation and a woman’s determination to cling to her identity and dignity. [B+]

A copy of my review on Instagram.