Ema (Mariana Di Girolamo), a young dancer, decides to separate from Gastón after giving back Polo, the son they both adopted and were unable to raise. In a desperate search through the streets of the port city of Valparaíso, Ema seeks love affairs in order to overcome her guilt. However, she has a secret plan to recover everything she’s lost.
Ema is a Chilean drama film directed by Pablo Larraín from a screenplay by Guillermo Calderón and Alejandro Moreno. It stars Mariana Di Girolamo, Cristian Suares, Gael García Bernal, Paola Giannini and Santiago Cabrera. It had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 30, 2019.
In August 2018, it was announced Mariana Di Girolamo, Gael García Bernal, Paola Giannini, Santiago Cabrera, Giannina Fruttero, Josefina Fiebelkorn, Paula Hofmann, Paula Luchsinger, Antonia Giesen, Catalina Saavedra, Mariana Loyola and Susana Hidalgo had joined the cast of the film, with Pablo Larraín directing from a screenplay by Guillermo Calderón and Alejandro Moreno. Juan de Dios Larraín will serve as producer on the film under his Fabula banner.
It had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 31, 2019. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2019. It was released in Chile on September 26, 2019. Shortly after, Mubi and Music Box Films acquired U.K. and U.S. distribution rights to the film. Mubi previously planned a theatrical release for the film, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the film was released through video streaming services in the U.K, Ireland and India, from 2 May 2020. Ema was released in Australian cinemas on May 13, 2021. It is scheduled to be released in the United States on 13 August 2021.
Film Review for Ema
When Pablo Larraín took the helm of Jackie, it was the first time the Chilean director had attempted two things: a story set outside of Latin America and one with a female protagonist. With Ema, Larraín is back in his home country, weaving a tightly-controlled narrative of family and female empowerment around its magnetic central character.
“Valparaiso, how absurd you are, what a lunatic” Pablo Neruda once wrote of the Chilean port city, which provides the backdrop for Larraín’s latest feature. The same could be said of Ema (Mariana Di Girolamo) herself, the title character, who waltzes (or perhaps street dances) her way through this electric, eye-popping tale of problem marriages and personal freedoms.
Ema and Gastón (Gael García Bernal) are a couple whose relationship has hit the rocks. Having struggled with the at-times violent behaviour of their adoptive son, Polo (Cristián Suárez), they return him to the state and contend with the backlash. Members of the dance company where they both work are critical of their decision and the inner guilt prove unbearable for Gastón. He holds Ema responsible and scolds her for having ‘lost’ their child.
For her part, Ema finds solace in the company of her fellow dancers, marshalling her bohemian friends to enact an unusual plan of action. One which will help resolve her present dilemma whilst challenging the social expectations of those involved. Those sequences in which she dances alone across a deserted pier or engages in what could be described as light arson are captured so vividly by Sergio Armstrong’s cinematography that they could furnish a separate write-up all on their own.
Ema is an astonishing film. Constructed of peppery conflicts and passionate affairs, emotionally fraught speeches and tender embraces, most of them elicited by Ema herself. She glides through the film wearing an inscrutable smile, certain of herself and her plan of action. Brilliantly acted, shot with precision and style, this is a deconstruction of the ‘nuclear family’ that cries out for a second or third viewing.
Ema (2021)
Directed by: Pablo Larraín
Starring: Mariana Di Girolamo, Gael García Bernal, Paola Giannini, Santiago Cabrera, Giannina Fruttero, Josefina Fiebelkorn, Paula Hofmann, Paula Luchsinger, Antonia Giesen, Catalina Saavedra, Mariana Loyola, Susana Hidalgo, Amparo Noguera
Cristian Felipe Suarez as Polo
Screenplay by: Guillermo Calderón, Alejandro Moreno
Production Design by: Estefania Larrain
Cinematography by: Sergio Armstrong
Film Editing by: Sebastián Sepúlveda
Costume Design by: Felipe Criado, Muriel Parra
Set Decoration by: Tatiana Maulen
Music by: Nicolás Jaar
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Music Box Films
Release Date: August 30, 2019 (Venice), September 26, 2019 (Chile), August 13, 2021 (United States)
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