Ema

Boring and without substance. A piece that looks more like the pretentious work of a talentless film student than that of a real artist. The cinematography is not enough to avoid yawning in the face of a dull and meaningless story.

Não gosto muito de musicais e dancinhas, talvez tenha servido para quebrar o clima pesado da trama, um casal desajustado adotando uma criança problemática complexo, entretanto uma das poucas sensatas é a assistência social quando cospe verdades na cara do casal, como alguém devolve uma criança adotada gente, que pecado, que irresponsáveis… Para tudo naquele final, como assim, precisei de um tempo p digerir as informações, fiquei confusa sobre quem queimou a irmã realmente… P-E-R-F-E-I-T-O...

This is very much an arty film, with some scenes seemingly depicting what looks like a choreographed dance exhibit. Indeed both dance and colour play an important role in this film. I felt there's certainly a fair amount of symbology present in what we see, in terms of aspects of the performances or 'moving exhibits' during the film. Plus, in the background there's some mystical/ethereal music playing, certainly at the start of the film anyway. It was fairly clear from near the start that the film was starting towards the end of the plot. There is a definite sense of mystery present and it made me think, plot-wise, of the film 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' - it would be hard not to feel sorry for the mother, to one extent or another. Some of the script was quite good - it's fairly thought-provoking, clearly depicting an understandably strained relationship. Its got quite an urban setting, although the characters are mostly shown with few people surrounding them, so there is a sense of isolation present too. The characters are somewhat soft-spoken but then it is a Spanish film, so that shouldn't affect you if you rely on reading the subtitles anyway. I thought it was quite atmospheric/absorbing, without feeling too pretentious or over the top and so I'd definitely recommend it, yes, although it does feature strong language and some sex scenes, in case that might offend you.

A surreal look into a woman's destructive path to control, manipulate, and con her way into the lives of people she can control through emotion and sex to reunite with her previously abandoned adopted son. Yes, you can say that's an insane plot. Beautifully shot with it's spinning and colorful images, and beautifully acted.

Although intentionally disjointed and sexualized, there seemed to be visceral power to this film. The message seemed to be a challenge to virtually everything. The fire motif was intrusive but perhaps purposefully so. I won't soon forget the challenges this film issued.

Ema is a bold, brazen, sensual film but one that I found rather empty and unsatisfying. Pablo Larrain always makes interesting films and this one is no different. But I felt the structure was haphazard and the story a bit messy. Ema is a ancer in Chile. She becomes partners with her older head of the dance company. They can't have children so they adopt a boy, Polo, from the orphanage. When the film begins they hand the boy back as he is too much to handle. He is a pyromaniac and has damaged Ema's sister. The rest of the film is about Ema feeling guilty and the destruction of the relationship between Ema and Gaston. It's incredibly colourful and the dancing is dazzling, but I never really cared much for the characters. Having said that Mariana di Girolamo is superb in the tilte role and the great Gael Garcia Bernal is always a terrific watch. An ambitious film but one I found hard to connect with.

As I watched 'Ema', I thought to myself this is the kind of film critics will love and a general audience won't get. It's filled with sensuality, dance, music, and sex, but it's really just visual masturbation. The Chilean drama film, directed by Pablo Larraín, puts together the story in fragments, but the premise is exhausted by the time a bizarre resolution presents itself. Useless tangents drag the film down further. The idea of an adoption gone wrong could be done so much better. Final Score: 4/10

My favourite Larraín's film is an umpredictable and compelling study of society and female freedom that features a visceral performance by its lead, a woman who brilliantly changes the order of everything surrounding her in order to reach her own purpose while redefines the meaning of the well-known word " mother". And even though, specially towards the ending, "Ema" feels a little tired, the impression it leaves the viewer since the beginning never fades until the last shot.

Visually interesting but in Spanish with only about 10% of dialogue subtitled so we left after 20 min because we couldn’t figure out the storyline. BTW we watch a lot of foreign films.

I was excited for this. The cinematography looked good. The setting looked beautiful. The dancing looked good. I heard the performances were good. And for the most part they were. The story looked interesting too, but boy howdy, this was some of the worst writing I have ever seen. It alternated between being boring and being offensively stupid. Terrible choices. I walked out halfway through.