"Una Mujer Fantástica" or "A Fantastic Woman" is a collaboration of 4 countries that resulted in this 2017 105-minute film in the Spanish language. Here we have this year's Best Foreign Language Film winner for Chile. It is the second time for the country to be nominated (after No) and the first time it took home the glory. For writer and director Sebastián Lelio it was the second time too that one of his works was submitted and he triumphed this time after Gloria came short half a decade ago. I personally must say I prefer Gloria though, but Lelio seems to have a good touch for female centered movies struggling with lobve from one perspective or the other. But of course, it is not surprising really that liberal Hollywood would really appreciate a film that has a transgender character in almost every scene. Lead actress Dani Vega is also transgender in real life, which added additional spice and bait to the film's awards ambitions. But in all fairness, she did a good job here most of the time and it is also a well-written movie. The young woman has a love relationship with a far older man who dies surprisingly early on after he seemed like the initial protagonist of the film and the rest of the movie is basically Vega's character struggling with getting her fair share of mourning when she is chased away by the dead man's family from the requiem and they made more than clear that they don't want her at the funeral either. In addition, there is struggling about who gets what and most of the focus there is on a canine. The film is packed with examples of discrimination, some more severe and even violently physical, others more subtle. One interesting thing is how everybody perceived the protagonist differently. Some don't see her as a woman at all, but as a chimera while others see her as a woman and this does not only include her lover's family, but also doctors, police officers and her own family. The good news here is that the film really does feel authentic and realistic from start to finish. I never had the impression that I was watching actors play parts. One interesting scene was when she unleashes her anger on top of the car and really becomes the beast to some extent that the people inside the car (2 out of 3 at least) see in her. I also liked the fighter references with these brief punching ball moments somewhat defining the character's inner strength and willpower. There weren't many moment that I did not like. One would be that she actually randomly comes across another guy with the same key which was too big of a coincidence for me and the key scene at the end also I am not sure if I liked it or not. It was somewhat realistic, but also a bit of a letdown given the build-up there with regards to the emptiness eventually. The music and singing element, as beautiful as her voice may be, felt rushed in and pointless most of the time, even if I can see the impact how everybody sees her on stage as an actual woman. Still a nice reference to how art and music may overcome all boundaries. And come on, the natural woman song in the radio may have been a bit too much. Still all in all, the positive outweighs the negative and while I think the Oscar is maybe a bit too much (I sure would have preferred it going to Gloria),I definitely think watching this one is not by any means a waste of time. i give this fantastic woman a thumbs-up and recommend checking it out.

The issue of casting cisgender people in transgender roles has become a heated topic in recent times, so many people probably considered it a relief to see the casting of a trans person in the lead role in "Una mujer fantástica" ("A Fantastic Woman" in English). But more importantly, this first Chilean movie ever to win Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards is an outstanding movie. It shows the discrimination against the main character after her partner dies. She tries to connect with his family but gets rebuffed and often has no one to turn to. I suspect that this happens a lot in real life.

I hope to see more of these movies. The trans community is one of the most discriminated against, even from other branches of the LGBT community, so movies like this one can help raise people's consciousness about the issues that trans people face.

Great one.

I always make an effort to see as many awards nominated and winning movies from Award Season as possible, it isn't as straight to forward to watch the foreign language films, but I'm glad I found this Spanish language top prize winner. Basically in Santiago, Chile, a transgender woman named Marina Vidal (Daniela Vega) works as a waitress during the day, and during the night is a nightclub singer. She is has recently moved in with her boyfriend Orlando (Francisco Reyes),an older man, who takes her to dinner to celebrate her birthday. That night, Orlando complains he is not feeling well, Marina prepares to take him to the hospital, but he falls 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 runs from the hospital, then the police pick her up for questioning, they demand an explanation for why she left so suddenly. Orlando's brother Gabo (Luis Gnecco) helps her to convince the police officers that she had no involvement in his death, they let her go and take Orlando's car home. Marina is contacted by Sonia (Aline Küppenheim),Orlando's ex-wife, they arrange for Marina to drop off Orlando's car. She meets with Sonia, who is very upfront about her transphobic feelings towards Marina. Shortly after, Orlando's son Bruno (Nicolás Saavedra) moves in with Marina into the apartment, but he intends to drive her out, he also insists on taking Orlando's dog, Diabla. While working as a waitress, Marina is visited by detective, Adriana (Amparo Noguera),who questions her about sexual assault, she is concerned about the bruises Orlando suffered during his fall. To prove her innocence, Marina is forced to report to the police station to be photographed nude to provide evidence there was no physical exchange between them on the night of Orlando's death. Marina is greeted by her sister Wanda (Trinidad González) and Wanda's partner Gastón (Néstor Cantillana) the following day as she prepares to move out of Orlando's apartment. They and Sonia warn Marina not to attend Orlando's wake, she ignores this, the service stops upon her entrance and Sonia demands her to leave. Gabo follows her and apologises to her, and later she is approached by Bruno and his friends from a car. They grab her and force her into the car, they threaten her and wrap her face in scotch tape and dump her in an alleyway. Marina is scared and alone, she walks to a gay club to try and settle her nerves, she dances the night away, including with a boy, and that evening stays with Wanda and Gastón. The following morning, she reads the newspaper and finds the details of Orlando's funeral, her friends warn her to let it go, and Marina says she will not attend. However, she does go to the funeral home after the ceremony has taken place. She enters the graveyard and is confronted by Orlando's family in a car, who insult her. Then she climbs on top of the car and demands she wants the dog, they are stunned and drive away. Marina follows an employee into the morgue and is able to see Orlando's body and say goodbye to him before his cremation. In the end, she is seen taking the dog for a walk, and singing an opera recital to a packed auditorium. Also starring Alejandro Goic as Doctor, Antonia Zegers as Alessandra and Sergio Hernández as Professor de Canto. Vega gives a mesmerising performance who endures humiliation, suspicious or contemptuous looks, and justifying herself as a woman, but she stands tall as a dignified and defiant heroine. The story revolves around a trans woman trying to prove innocence for a false allegation, and there is a subplot where she was left a key and she seeks the lock and contents it leads to, the highlight is in the dance club with all the sparkly costumes, but more than anything this is a tale of female empowerment, a most interesting and irresistible drama. It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, and it was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language. Very good!