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A Fantastic Woman

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A Fantastic Woman
Theatrical release poster
SpanishUna mujer fantástica
Directed bySebastián Lelio
Written by
  • Sebastián Lelio
  • Gonzalo Maza
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBenjamín Echazarreta
Edited bySoledad Salfate
Music byMatthew Herbert
Production
companies
  • Fabula
  • Komplizen Film
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 12 February 2017 (2017-02-12) (Berlinale)
  • 6 April 2017 (2017-04-06) (Chile)
  • 7 September 2017 (2017-09-07) (Germany)
  • 20 October 2017 (2017-10-20) (Spain)
  • 2 February 2018 (2018-02-02) (United States)
Running time
104 minutes
Countries
  • Chile
  • Germany
  • Spain
  • United States[2]
LanguageSpanish
Box office$3.7 million[3][4]

A Fantastic Woman (Spanish: Una mujer fantástica) is a 2017 drama film directed by Sebastián Lelio, written by Lelio and Gonzalo Maza.[5] Produced by Juan de Dios and Pablo Larraín, the film stars Daniela Vega and Francisco Reyes. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Oscars[6][7] and competed for the Golden Bear at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.[8]

Plot

[edit]

Marina is a young transgender woman living in Santiago, Chile. She works as a singer and a waitress and is in a relationship with an older man named Orlando. They have recently moved in together, and on Marina's birthday, Orlando gives her a note promising tickets to a famous resort as a gift. However, Orlando wakes up in the middle of the night feeling unwell and stumbles down a flight of stairs. Marina takes him to the hospital, but he dies of a brain aneurysm.

Marina contacts Orlando's brother, Gabo, and is later picked up by the police. The officers call her 'sir' after checking her old ID card and demand an explanation for her sudden departure from the hospital. Gabo arrives and speaks to Marina with enough familiarity to convince the police of her innocence. He lets her take Orlando's car home.

Orlando's ex-wife, Sonia, contacts Marina to arrange a time for her to drop off Orlando's car. While working, Marina is visited by a detective named Adriana, who works on cases that include sexual assault. Adriana suggests that Orlando was paying Marina as a sex worker rather than the two dating. She also thinks Marina may have caused Orlando's bruises while defending herself from a violent encounter. The detective tells Marina she will be waiting to meet with her after work-- she does not go.

Marina returns home, where she is comforted by Orlando's dog, Diabla. Orlando's son, Bruno, arrives the next morning and harasses Marina with personal questions. Marina takes the car to be washed and "sees" Orlando, which disturbs her. She then meets Sonia in a car park and hands over the car. Sonia becomes upset and asks Marina to hand over the flat as soon as possible. She tells Marina not to go to the funeral.

She goes to meet detective Adriana who insists a physical exam must be performed because Marina did not meet with her after work the day prior. When Marina tries to refuse the exam, the detective warns that doing so will result in an investigation being opened against her. She is forced to be photographed nude to check for any signs of bruising or injury.

Gabo calls Marina and tells her that Orlando will be cremated, and he wants her to have some of the ashes. Marina prepares to move out of Orlando's apartment and discovers Bruno has taken Diabla.

Wanda and Gastón warn her to let it go, but she decides to attend the wake but upon her arrival, Sonia demands that Marina leave, and Gabo follows her out and apologizes. Later, Bruno and his friends accost and kidnap Marina, threatening her and wrapping her face in scotch tape before leaving her in an alleyway. Marina then walks to a gay club where she meets a man and later hallucinates seeing Orlando. Later she spends the night with Wanda, her sister, and Gastón, Wanda's partner.

She decides to visit a sauna where Orlando had left a numbered key. She nervously enters the sauna and books in before locating the lockers and opening Orlando's, only to find it empty. The next day, Marina discovers the details of Orlando's funeral in the newspaper.

After the funeral ceremony, Marina is confronted by Orlando's family who insult her, prompting her to climb on top of their car and demand her dog back. She follows an employee into the morgue and sees Orlando's body before his cremation.

In the final scene, Marina is seen running with Diabla and later singing an opera recital to a packed audience.

Cast

[edit]

Release

[edit]
Larraín, Vega, Lelio, Reyes at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival

A Fantastic Woman premiered at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival on 12 February 2017. The movie won the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay and the Teddy Award, which is given to films with an LGBT theme. Two days prior to the premiere, Sony Pictures Classics acquired the distribution rights for the film.[1]

Reception

[edit]

The film holds a 94% approval rating on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 221 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Subtle and tender, A Fantastic Woman handles its timely, sensitive subject matter with care."[9] It holds a score of 86 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 43 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[10]

Chilean LBGTQ activists used A Fantastic Woman's Oscar win to accelerate local discussions on a gender identity bill.[11] Subsequently, Chile approved laws allowing transgender citizens to change their official details in late 2018.[12] According to political scientists Carsten-Andreas Schulz and Cameron G. Thies, the international recognition of the film temporarily made support for trans rights a matter of national pride in Chile, which opened a window of opportunity for the approval of the law.[13]

Accolades

[edit]

A Fantastic Woman received a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards,[7] and became the first Chilean film to win the award in this category.[14] It was the second Chilean film to win an Oscar, after Bear Story in 2016.

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipients Result Ref.
Academy Awards 4 March 2018 Best Foreign Language Film Chile Won [14]
Ariel Awards 5 June 2018 Best Ibero-American Film A Fantastic Woman Won [15]
Belgian Film Critics Association 7 January 2018 Grand Prix A Fantastic Woman Nominated [16]
Berlin International Film Festival 18 February 2017 Teddy Award – Best Feature Film Sebastián Lelio Won [17]
Silver Bear for Best Screenplay Sebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza Won [18]
Golden Bear Sebastián Lelio Nominated
Cabourg Film Festival 18 June 2017 Grand Jury Prize Sebastián Lelio Won [19]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards 11 January 2018 Best Foreign Language Film A Fantastic Woman Nominated [20]
Dorian Awards 31 January 2018 Best Foreign Language Film A Fantastic Woman Nominated [21]
Best Actress Daniela Vega Nominated
Best LGBTQ Film A Fantastic Woman Nominated
Best Rising Star Daniela Vega Nominated
GLAAD Media Awards 12 April 2018 Outstanding Film – Limited Release A Fantastic Woman Won [22]
Golden Globe Award 7 January 2018 Best Foreign Language Film A Fantastic Woman Nominated [23]
Goya Awards 3 February 2018 Best Iberoamerican Film A Fantastic Woman Won [24]
Havana Film Festival 15 December 2017 Special Jury Prize A Fantastic Woman Won [25]
Best Actress Daniela Vega Won
Unete- United Nations Prize A Fantastic Woman Won [citation needed]
Independent Spirit Awards 3 March 2018 Best International Film A Fantastic Woman Won [26]
National Board of Review 28 November 2017 Top Five Foreign Language Films A Fantastic Woman Won [27]
Palm Springs International Film Festival 13 January 2018[28] Honorable Mention Cine Latino Jury A Fantastic Woman Won [29]
Best Actress in a Foreign Language Film Daniela Vega Won
Platino Awards 29 April 2018 Best Film A Fantastic Woman Won [30]
Best Director Sebastián Lelio Won
Best Actress Daniela Vega Won
Best Screenplay Sebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza Won
Best Film Editing Soledad Salfate Won
Best Cinematography Benjamín Echazarreta Nominated
Best Art Direction Estefanía Larraín Nominated
Best Sound Tina Laschke Nominated
Film and Education Values A Fantastic Woman Nominated

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Hipes, Patrick (9 February 2017). "Sony Classics Picks Up Berlin Competition Pic 'A Fantastic Woman'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  2. ^ "Una mujer fantástica". Lumiere. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  3. ^ "Una Mujer Fantástica (A Fantastic Woman)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Una Mujer Fantástica". The Numbers. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  5. ^ Kay, Jeremy (8 March 2016). "'A Fantastic Woman' wraps shoot". Screen Daily. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  6. ^ Bacherbas (11 September 2017). "Los latinos al Óscar 2018: Chile". Premios Óscar Latinos. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Oscars 2018: The list of nominees in full". BBC News. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  8. ^ Press Office (15 December 2016). "Aki Kaurismäki, Oren Moverman, Agnieszka Holland, Andres Veiel, and Sally Potter – First Films for the Competition of the Berlinale 2017". Annual Archives: 2017. Berlin International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  9. ^ "A Fantastic Woman (Una mujer fantástica) (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  10. ^ "A Fantastic Woman Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  11. ^ Levy, Nicolás (7 March 2018). "'A Fantastic Woman' reignites Chile trans rights debate". Washington Blade. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  12. ^ Cambero, Fabio (12 September 2018). "Chile approves law for transgender citizens to change official details". Reuters. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  13. ^ Schulz, Carsten-Andreas; Thies, Cameron G. (2023). "Status cues and normative change: How the Academy Awards facilitated Chile's gender identity law". Review of International Studies: 1–19. doi:10.1017/S0260210522000626. ISSN 0260-2105. S2CID 255907830.
  14. ^ a b Roxborough, Scott (4 March 2018). "Oscars: Chile's Win for 'A Fantastic Woman' a Transgender Watershed". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  15. ^ ""Una mujer fantástica" se lleva el Ariel a la mejor película iberoamericana". El Periódico. 6 June 2018.
  16. ^ 6nemablog (22 December 2017). "Grand Prix UCC 2018: cinq finalistes issus de quatre pays, le Cavens à Home". 6néma (in French). Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Mitz, Johanna (17 February 2017). "TEDDY AWARD Winners 2017". Teddy Awards. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  18. ^ "Prizes of the International Jury". Berlin International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  19. ^ "Le Festival du Film de Cabourg 2017 a distingué ses lauréats". Vanity Fair. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  20. ^ Kilday, Gregg (6 December 2017). "Critics' Choice Awards: 'The Shape of Water' Leads With 14 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  21. ^ Kilday, Gregg (10 January 2018). "'Call Me by Your Name' Leads Dorian Award Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  22. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (12 April 2018). "GLAAD Media Awards: 'This Is Us,' 'A Fantastic Woman' Among Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  23. ^ Erbland, Kate (11 December 2017). "Golden Globes 2018 Film Nominees Led by 'The Shape of Water' and 'The Post'". IndieWire. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  24. ^ AFP (3 February 2018). ""Una mujer fantástica", gana Goya a mejor película iberoamericana". El Espectador. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  25. ^ Havana Times (16 December 2017). "Argentine Drama "Alanis" Takes Best Film Award at the Havana Film Festival". Havana Times. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  26. ^ Sharf, Zack (21 November 2017). "2018 Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 'Get Out' and 'Call Me by Your Name' Dominate". IndieWire. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  27. ^ "2017 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  28. ^ "A Fantastic Woman". Palm Springs International Film Festival. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  29. ^ "Félicité Garners Palm Springs Accolades". Palm Springs Life. 13 January 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  30. ^ Hecht, John (30 April 2018). "Sebastian Lelio's 'A Fantastic Woman' Sweeps Platino Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
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