It may have only been a fleeting moment, but for one night we get to witness the love story that is Marina and Orlando. Marina is a waitress, but when night falls she becomes a sultry nightclub singer. Orlando is the executive of a textile company. He is also 20 years her senior but to a world looking in they are just two people so in love that they are consumed by each other.
After a night of celebrating, dancing, and love making, Marina wakes to find Orlando sitting upright in bed in a state of distress. With fears that something serious is happening to Orlando, they rush to get him to the hospital. Moments after arrival doctors can only confirm his passing it is in this moment that Marina’s world starts to unravel. For Marina is transgender and instead of being able to grieve the death of her lover she is questioned, ostracised and treated like a criminal.
Shocking and enraging, joyous and uplifting, humorous and surreal Una Mujer Fantastica is an intense film that will have your emotions somersaulting. While it’s politically charged and defiantly reflecting the mistreatment, fears and abuse that are experienced by the transgender community, it does not go forth to advocate these feelings as an agenda, instead allowing human drama to speak for itself. The emotional core of this film is one woman’s determination to rightfully grieve the passing of her lover and the people who try to nullify her character.
Played by the remarkable transgender actress Daniela Vega, the character of Marina is a woman who displays an endless amount of bravery and self-awareness, no matter the blows that she is dealt. When we first meet Marina she’s seen performing in the nightclub, tossing flirty glances in the direction of Orlando (Francisco Reye). From the beginning, screenwriter Gonzalo Maza conveys the depths of the couple's love and commitment, from the birthday celebrations for Marina where he gifts her an all expenses trip for two, or their slow intimate dance amongst a crowd that does not exist outside their bubble, to the sensual love scene back at their apartment.
It is that same night that Orlando dies suddenly. Stunned and shattered, Marina's grief is ignored as she is bombarded with questions about her relationship with Orlando. There’s a doctor who insists on only using male pronouns when addressing her, but also calling her by her male birth name. As if things couldn’t get any worse an investigation into their relationship begins when bruising and cuts are found on Orlando’s body, A detective from the Sexual Investigations unit operates on the assumption that prostitution or rape somehow played into the death, insisting that Marina take a physical examination that is both intrusive and degrading.
That’s nothing compared to Orlando’s family who she must confront. His son Bruno (Nicolas Saavedra) who threatens to kick her out of her own home and doesn’t even have the decency to remember her name, and his ex-wife who demands that she return his car to her, only to then insult her “I look at you and I don’t know what I’m seeing." They Marina from attending Orlando’s funeral as “his family” will take care of it now. One of the hardest scenes to watch is when after having turned up to the funeral, Marina is kidnapped by members of his family and they temporarily disfigure her, outwardly showing her what it is that they see.
Director Sebastian Lelio takes some creative risks in the film by intertwining what is real with the surreal. There are several visually striking moments that provide an enchanting insight into Marina’s grief. A standout is a scene that shows Marina walking on the street when suddenly the wind starts to pick up, as the winds get more intense, leaves and rubbish sail by. She leans in, but the winds grows stronger but yet she persevere even when her body is at an almost 45 degree angle. We get to walk a mile in Marina’s shoes, just like the wind tunnel that hurls debris, it is directly reflective of the social judgments that are cast her way. Still she makes it through the storm.
Una Mujer Fantastica ("A Fantastic Woman") should be someone who is strong, honest and complex. Marina is all these things and then some. From a young age she has fought to be the woman she’s always known herself to be and has prepared herself for the world. But the question is, is the world prepared for Marina? I hope so.
Una Mujer Fantastica screened as part of the 2017 Sydney Film Festival.
