After her old lover suddenly dies, main character Marina, a young transgender woman, is confronted with the anger and resentment of the family of her lover, fueled by their relentless prejudices. The only thing she asks of them, is to allow her to attend to her lovers memorial service, and to keep the dog that her lover gave her. But the family refuses everything and opposes her in the most cruel ways.
Daniela Vega gives an extraordinary performance as Marina, all the time staying composed and keeping up her dignity. There are several heartbreaking scenes, like when Marina has to be examined by a forensic doctor who clearly considers her a freak and takes pictures of her naked body; or when she finally reaches the crematorium, just in time to see the body of her lover and touch it one last time, before they slide it in the cremation-oven.
Director Lelio subtly but very effectively pictures Marina's desperation and loneliness. The latter is poignantly illustrated by the empty locker, in which Marina hoped to find some personal memento's of her lover, making her finally realize that she is left empty-handed and alone. This triggers her only outburst with the family, demanding ar least her dog. When we in the end see Marina jogging in the park with her dog, that outburst apparently made her score this one point, but at the cost of being degraded to the core.
This is definitely not an easy movie to watch, but absolutely worthwhile. It stayed in my head for a long time.
Daniela Vega gives an extraordinary performance as Marina, all the time staying composed and keeping up her dignity. There are several heartbreaking scenes, like when Marina has to be examined by a forensic doctor who clearly considers her a freak and takes pictures of her naked body; or when she finally reaches the crematorium, just in time to see the body of her lover and touch it one last time, before they slide it in the cremation-oven.
Director Lelio subtly but very effectively pictures Marina's desperation and loneliness. The latter is poignantly illustrated by the empty locker, in which Marina hoped to find some personal memento's of her lover, making her finally realize that she is left empty-handed and alone. This triggers her only outburst with the family, demanding ar least her dog. When we in the end see Marina jogging in the park with her dog, that outburst apparently made her score this one point, but at the cost of being degraded to the core.
This is definitely not an easy movie to watch, but absolutely worthwhile. It stayed in my head for a long time.