Ema
This is the second movie in less than a year that explores the toxic, emotional wreckage of a couple after a tragedy involving a child that I’ve seen. The first one was “Pieces of a Woman,” and while I think that film has issues, it’s fundamentally sound in its approach to the subject. Pablo Larrain’s “Ema” is no less captivating an experience, but is infinitely more chaotic in how it goes about it. I love this film almost as much as I’m mystified by some of its choices.
In the opening scene, Ema (Mariana Di Girólamo) is in a fire safety suit with a flamethrower on her back, and we watch as a street light burns. She is an interpretive dancer, married to the company’s director (Gaston, played by Gael García Bernal). They are experimental and loose in how they create their art. Their marriage is also coming apart at the seams after a personal tragedy involving their adopted son, Polo, whom they had to put back into the system because of his actions. The rest of the movie follows Ema grappling with that reality.
The only other Larrain film I’ve watched is “Jackie,” which I loved, but that cannot prepare you for what we see in this film. “Ema” is challenging narratively, sexually and emotionally as we see Ema’s life get turned upside down. Visually, the dance sequences and the moments of montage set to music are exhilarating blasts of energy, captured by cinematographer Sergio Armstrong in bold lighting choices that make the film feel like a fever dream. In these sequences, the film comes alive in ways that make the baffling elements of this film stand out all the more.
Ema and Gaston are narcissistic individuals. Early in the film, much of their interactions involve blaming the other for what happened with Polo. He is older and controlling, while she is completely self-absorbed within herself, and her ideas of how things should go. We learn that Gaston is sterile, and Ema wanted a child, so that is why the adoption happened. We also learn other things along the way that make us question the ethical nature of not just our characters, but Child Protective Services in Chile, where the film is set. The screenplay by Larrain, Guillermo Calderón and Alejandro Moreno sets up, and follows through, on ideas that are truly maddening to consider how that would even happen. Narratively, it’s hard to see how any of this would play out this way in real life, and certainly, by the end, it’s impossible to think that these people wouldn’t be either behind bars or at least ruined by their behavior. But I do not know if “Ema” is supposed to make logical sense as a narrative. I think it’s more about showing us the experience of the main character (played with raw feeling by Di Girólamo) going through stages of grief over what happened, and trying to rectify it in her own mind, even though some of the actions she goes through to do so are insane. About 15 years ago, I might have recoiled from this movie; instead, I’m left fascinated by how it’s telling its narrative, and whether I think it’s successful or not is inconsequential; the experience is what matters. The experience of “Ema” is worth taking a chance on.
Thoughts on the Blu-Ray Release
I had the chance to get the Blu-Ray for this film after the new year, and I’ll be honest- having the film around makes me excited about giving this one a second viewing. The film looks and sounds beautiful from what I’ve watched of the transfer (that opening montage where we are introduced to Ema and Gaston’s life is haunting and filled with life and energy). In terms of the extras, we get trailers and TV spots, as well as production stills and a music video of footage from the film for Estado Unido and Stephanie Janaina’s “Real.” The red meat of the Blu-Ray presentation, however, is a scene-specific audio commentary by choreographer Jose Vidal, whose words about not just his thinking but Larrain’s get me even more pumped to revisit the film, and a booklet that includes both a written interview with Pablo Larrain, and a passionate essay on the film by critic Carlos Agular.
