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, the film stars Daniela Vega and Francisco Reyes. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Oscars and competed for the Golden Bear at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.
Plot
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.
Marina returns home, where she is comforted by Orlando's dog, Diabla. Orlando's son, Bruno, arrives and harasses Marina with personal questions. He decides to take the dog despite Marina's protestations. 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.
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 attends the wake. Upon her arrival, Sonia demands that Marina leave, and Gabo follows her out and apologizes. Later, Bruno and his friends accost Marina, threatening 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 spends the night with Wanda and Gastón.
The next day, Marina discovers the details of Orlando's funeral in the newspaper. Wanda and Gastón warn her to let it go, but 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.
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
Daniela Vega as Marina Vidal
Francisco Reyes as Orlando Onetto Partier
Luis Gnecco as Gabriel Onetto Partier
Aline Küppenheim as Sonia Bunster
Amparo Noguera as Adriana Cortés
Nicolás Saavedra as Bruno Onetto Bunster
Antonia Zegers as Alessandra
Trinidad González as Wanda Vidal
Néstor Cantillana as Gastón
Alejandro Goic as Doctor
Sergio Hernández as piano teacher
Roberto Farías as medic in SML
Marcial Tagle as Orlando's relative
Pablo Cerda as Pablo
Erto Pantoja as police man
Paola Lattus as nurse
Release
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.
Reception
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." It holds a score of 86 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 43 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".