A Fantastic Woman


A Fantastic Woman is a 2017 drama film directed by Sebastián Lelio, written by Lelio and Gonzalo Maza, produced by Juan de Dios and Pablo Larraín and starring Daniela Vega and Francisco Reyes. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear in the main competition section of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. It was selected as the Chilean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film where it won in the 90th Academy Awards.

Plot

Marina is a young transgender woman living in Santiago, Chile, who works as a singer and a waitress. She is taken to dinner by her boyfriend, Orlando, an older man with whom she has recently moved in. He gives her the birthday gift of a note promising tickets to a famous resort because he has mislaid the actual tickets before or after visiting the sauna. That night, Orlando wakes up in a daze and complains he does not feel right. As Marina prepares to take him to the hospital, he stumbles down a flight of stairs. After driving Orlando to the hospital and checking him in, she is told by a doctor that Orlando has died of a brain aneurysm. She leaves the hospital in despair and calls Orlando's brother, Gabo. She is then picked up by police, who drive her back and demand an explanation for why she left so suddenly. They also check her ID card and thereafter call her 'sir'. The brother arrives and speaks to her with enough familiarity to convince the police officers of her innocence and lets her take Orlando's car home.
Marina is contacted by Sonia, Orlando's ex-wife, and they arrange a time for Marina to drop off Orlando's car. While working, Marina is visited by a detective. The detective, Adriana, reveals she works in solving crimes that include sexual assault, and was concerned by the bruises Orlando suffered during his fall. She also suggests Orlando was paying Marina as a sex worker rather than that they had a regular relationship. The detective thinks, as a sex worker who is transgender, Marina may have been beaten up by Orlando and in defending herself she caused his injuries.
Marina returns to the flat she shared with Orlando and is comforted by the Alsatian dog, Diabla. Bruno, Orlando's son, arrives and questions Marina using the name Marissa. He decides to take the dog despite Marina's protestations. He asks personal questions about which surgery she has had, then harasses her for a date.
After he has gone, Marina takes the car to be washed. She 'sees' Orlando and is disturbed. Then she drives the car to the car park, as instructed, and waits for Sonia. When Sonia arrives she checks over the car and becomes upset. She asks Marina to hand over the flat as soon as she can. Marina apologises but Sonia takes this to be for the 'whole soap opera', and says she thinks what happened between her ex and Marina was 'perverted'. She tells Marina not to go to the funeral.
. Gabo rings and tells Marina that Orlando will be cremated and he wants her to have some of the ashes. She goes to see her singing teacher who wonders if she is there to learn opera or for moral support...
Marina prepares to move out of Orlando's apartment. She rings a local textile company saying she wants a wreath and thus discovers where the wake is being held. Her sister, Wanda, and partner, Gaston, greet her affectionately, and drive her from the flat. She tells them about Orlando's son coming into the flat uninvited and they suggest she tell the police, but she wants nothing to do with the police. Marina gets out of the car early without her luggage.
Marina attends Orlando's wake. Upon her arrival, Sonia stops the service and demands that Marina leave. On her way out, Gabo follows and apologizes to her. She is later accosted by Bruno and his friends from a car. His friends grab her and force her into the car. They threaten her and wrap her face in scotch tape, leaving her in an alleyway. Scared and alone, Marina then walks to a gay club where she meets a man, dances with him, and fools around with him. She thinks she sees Orlando again. Later she stays with Wanda and Gastón.
The next morning, Marina discovers the details of Orlando's funeral in the newspaper. Wanda and Gastón warn her to let it go, and Marina says she will not attend. At work she serves a customer with a numbered key similar to one Orlando left her. She asks what it belongs to and the man says his sauna.
She visits the sauna nervously and books in. Wearing a towel and sweating profusely she locates the lockers and opens Orlando's, but it is empty.
She goes to the funeral home after the ceremony has taken place. Entering the graveyard, she is confronted by Orlando's family who are leaving in their car. When they insult her, she climbs on top of the car and yells angrily that she wants her dog back. Stunned, they drive away. Following an employee into the morgue, she is able to see Orlando's body and say goodbye to him before his cremation.
Later, Marina is seen taking a run with Diabla. In the last scene, she sings an opera recital to a packed auditorium.

Cast

A Fantastic Woman premiered at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival on 12 February 2017 where the movie won the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay and the Teddy Award, an award given to films with a LGBT theme. Two days earlier, the film was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics.

Reception

The film currently holds a 94% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 218 reviews, with an average rating of 8.08/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Subtle and tender, A Fantastic Woman handles its timely, sensitive subject matter with care." It currently holds a score of 86 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 43 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
A Fantastic Woman's Oscar win was utilised by Chilean LBGTQ activists to accelerate local discussions on a gender identity bill. Chile subsequently approved laws for transgender citizens to change their official details in late 2018.

Accolades

A Fantastic Woman received a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, and became the first Chilean film to win the award in this category. It was the second Chilean film to win an Oscar, after Bear Story in 2016.
AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipients and nomineesResultRef
Academy Awards4 March 2018Best Foreign Language FilmChile
Belgian Film Critics Association7 January 2018Grand PrixA Fantastic Woman
Berlin International Film Festival18 February 2017Teddy Award – Best Feature FilmSebastián Lelio
Berlin International Film Festival18 February 2017Silver Bear for Best ScreenplaySebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza
Berlin International Film Festival18 February 2017Golden BearSebastián Lelio
Cabourg Film Festival18 June 2017Grand Jury PrizeSebastián Lelio
Critics' Choice Movie Awards11 January 2018Best Foreign Language FilmA Fantastic Woman
Dorian Awards31 January 2018Best Foreign Language FilmA Fantastic Woman
Dorian Awards31 January 2018Best ActressDaniela Vega
Dorian Awards31 January 2018Best LGBTQ FilmA Fantastic Woman
Dorian Awards31 January 2018Best Rising StarDaniela Vega
GLAAD Media Awards12 April 2018Outstanding Film – Limited ReleaseA Fantastic Woman
Golden Globe Award7 January 2018Best Foreign Language FilmA Fantastic Woman
Goya Awards3 February 2018Best Iberoamerican FilmA Fantastic Woman
Havana Film Festival15 December 2017Special Jury PrizeA Fantastic Woman
Havana Film Festival15 December 2017Best ActressDaniela Vega
Havana Film Festival15 December 2017Unete- United Nations PrizeA Fantastic Woman
Independent Spirit Awards3 March 2018Best International FilmA Fantastic Woman
National Board of Review28 November 2017Top Five Foreign Language FilmsA Fantastic Woman
Palm Springs International Film Festival13 January 2018Honorable Mention Cine Latino JuryA Fantastic Woman
Palm Springs International Film Festival13 January 2018Best Actress in a Foreign Language FilmDaniela Vega
Platino Awards29 April 2018Best FilmA Fantastic Woman
Platino Awards29 April 2018Best DirectorSebastián Lelio
Platino Awards29 April 2018Best ActressDaniela Vega
Platino Awards29 April 2018Best ScreenplaySebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza
Platino Awards29 April 2018Best Film EditingSoledad Salfate
Platino Awards29 April 2018Best CinematographyBenjamín Echazarreta
Platino Awards29 April 2018Best Art DirectionEstefanía Larraín
Platino Awards29 April 2018Best SoundTina Laschke
Platino Awards29 April 2018Film and Education ValuesA Fantastic Woman