A Fantastic Woman (★ ★ ★ ★ ½) opens with nightclub singer Marina (trans actor and singer Daniela Vega) singing “Love is like yesterday’s newspaper” in Chile’s capital Santiago. Then, shortly after celebrating her birthday with her handsome silver fox boyfriend Orlando (Francisco Reyes), she has to take him to the hospital where he dies of an aneurysm. Things get complicated very quickly as Marina tries to hold on to her dignity while Orlando’s family and the law don’t acknowledge their relationship.
Marina and Orlando’s love for one another disappears as Marina is scrutinised by police and hospital officials, bullied by Orlando’s family and even threatened and physically assaulted. Marina has no rights and no personal support, she has to move from the place she shared with Orlando, she is instructed to stay away from the ‘grieving family’ and officials treat her like a criminal and insist on calling her ‘Daniel’. The film’s realistic portrayal of Marina’s battle just to exist is very disturbing but unfortunately it probably isn’t that different to many places in the world, particularly when greed and bigotry combine.
The film is directed by Sebastian Lelio whose previous film Gloria also captured the loneliness of being in a non-conventional relationship. Vega is fantastic as she brings a quiet strength to her character trying to claim the right to mourn her lover and salvage something from their relationship.
Coby (★ ★ ★ ★ ½) is a documentary from a small town in America’s Midwest as 23 year old Suzanna goes through the gender transition process. It combines daily YouTube posts with footage of a post-transition Coby five years later, sitting comfortably in his skin and working as a paramedic.
Apart from capturing this life-changing event of his half brother’s transition, French film director Christian Sonderegger discovered that there was a much larger story than the physical changes that were happening to Coby.
Transformations were also happening to his partner Sara, family members and work colleagues. “This portrait of my half-brother turned into a metaphor for our capacity to evolve and adjust to the changes which we can’t elude.”
See Coby at the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival which returns to Cinema Paradiso, The Windsor and Luna on SX from 14 March – 4 April with the best of contemporary French cinema. Go to lunapalace.com.au for more information.
Set in Hamburg, Germany, In the Fade (★ ★ ★ ★ ★) is a tragedy in three acts which is carried by Diane Kruger’s riveting performance. The first part of the film directed by Fatih Akin is about family. Katja (Diane Kruger) marries Nuri Sekerci (Numan Acar) when he is released from prison for drug dealing and they turn their lives around with the birth of son Rocco. Originally from Turkey, Nuri sets up an office in a Turkish part of Hamburg, only to be targeted by a terrorist group and Nuri and son Rocco die in an explosion.
The second part centres on justice as the grieving Katja confronts two young Neo-Nazis at a trial alongside lawyer and friend Danilo (Denis Moschitto). Trials provoke such a see-saw of emotions and are rarely about ‘justice’, as Katja finds out. Somehow Katja comes back from the brink of desperation for the final powerful act. Already having gathered a host of awards including Cannes Best Actress Award, Diane Kruger will make sure that you don’t forget this film or its powerful message … ever.
Lezly Herbert
