Ema (film)


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.

Plot

Ema, a young dancer, divorces Gaston, the director of the company for which she performs. She is unable to overcome her sense of guilt towards Polo, the child they had adopted to make up for Gaston's sterility and whom they have later again brought back to the orphanage. A tragedy follows caused by the child’s pyromania.

Cast

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.

Filming

Principal photography began in August 2018.

Release

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 26 September 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.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 65 reviews, with an average rating of 7.31/10." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Ema, played with a ferocious intensity by Mariana di Girolamo, is complicated, emotionally opaque, confrontational, even unlikable. Larrain takes us into her head through images of startling beauty and strangeness, captured by cinematographer Sergio Armstrong.