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Eroticism and pyromania dance hand in hand in “Ema,” a formidable provocation by Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín. For some, the title character, played with lively audacity by Mariana Di Girólamo, will likely be a wild enigma; To others, a heroic mother who will do anything to get her adopted son back.
“You will be horrified when you find out what I did and why,” she says to one of her many lovers. We’d better believe her: she’s a dancer by profession and prowls the streets of Valparaíso wearing a fire starter, protective gear, and waving a flamethrower according to the trend. She and her uninspiring choreographer husband (Gael García Bernal) are divorcing after a horrific incident causes them to give up their adopted son. From the couple’s heartbreaking arguments, a picture emerges of the troubled child’s shocking behavior and its connection to Ema’s abnormal motherhood.
These details can sometimes make “Ema” sound like a perverse horror movie. But icy and curvy, Di Girólamo sells us a woman who is constantly moving to ease her pain. To Ema, lust and dance seem one and the same, and the two will be used as currency in a grand scheme that the distorted script (by Larraín, Guillermo Calderón and Alejandro Moreno) has rendered insanely opaque.
Larraín’s previous film “Jackie” (2016), also hugs a woman who has suffered a devastating loss, but this time her instincts are more primal. Polished by Nicolas Jaar’s impressive reggaeton music and Sergio Armstrong’s sparkling cinematography, “Ema” moves with a dynamism that cannot blur its unpleasant undertones. Whether it’s a melodramatic commentary on art and anarchy or a wild experiment on toxic motherhood, the film feels like a never-ending fire.
ema
Rated R for copious mating and terrible parenting. with Spanish subtitles. Duration: 1 hour 47 minutes. In movie theaters.
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