Ema (2019) - full transcript

Hi everyone, how are you?

I'm Mariana Di Girolamo,

from my house,
here in Chile.

And I'm Ema in 'Ema'
the new film by Pablo Larraín.

Stick around after the film
as I'll be answering a few questions.

Stay safe!

Come in.

Hi.

What are you doing here?

Are you crazy?
I told you not to come to my office.

I called you 20 times.



I told you I wouldn't answer.
Why did you call me?

How's my son?

He isn't your son.
Not anymore.

Know what you have left?
Dyed hair and a shit husband.

I'm still his mom.

No, you know what you still are?
A spoiled brat.

You should've been given back.

I'm his mom...

- Not legally!
- What'll happen to him?

Know what's gonna happen?

In a couple of years he'll be 12.

He'll escape from Child Protective Services
and he'll rob you at gunpoint.

What are you talking about?

He'll steal your car
and you'll report him...



- And he'll go to jail.
- Jail? Please!

Polo won't go to jail.
What are you saying?

You don't think so?

- Could you tell him that I love him, please?
- No.

I'm not going to
because I'm a bad liar.

Let me give you some advice...

Just stick to your fucking dancing.

Buy a doll. Dress it up.

Because what you want isn't a child.

You want a child who does nothing.
Stiff as a board.

How is he?
Tell me something.

I don't know, for heaven's sake!

Surely he has another mom
who's better than you.

- Was he adopted by another family?
- No idea.

- Is he up for adoption again?
- I have to go, enough.

- Tell me, please, goddammit.
- I don't know.

Marcela!

Look, listen to me.

You're young, ok?

You have your whole life ahead of you.
You'll forget all this.

But don't come to my office again.

Let's finish this.
The end, bye.

Do you like it?

No.

And that one?

I like her natural hair,
like it was before.

Sorry, Carlos.

- I'm sorry.
- It's ok. Enough apologies.

Remember when Pauli went to a concert
in Playa Ancha and came back bald?

- She looked gorgeous.
- Beautiful.

I have no energy, goddammit.

You can't be sad your whole life.

Things happen. It was an accident.

- No, it wasn't.
- Yes, it was.

- Yes, it was.
- It wasn't an accident.

It's not gonna happen again.

You have to do what lizards do.

What do lizards do
when their tail is cut?

They get disoriented.

They're fucked up.

I can't, I can't do it.

- Press the button.
- She's sedated.

- What is she sedated with?
- Morphine.

Why would you think they're
gonna give her morphine?

Then they only gave her a little,

- They should give her at least 30ml.
- What do you know?

- I think they're gonna ask us to give blood.
- Gross.

I can donate... one liter.

Nonsense, Ema. At best they'd
let you donate half.

It's my blood.
I do what I want with my blood, Mom.

You'll be fine.

You'll be fine.

One day you'll forgive us.

Forgive me. Ema. And Polo.

It feels like it's nighttime
and there's a fire.

Oh, yeah?

It could be a giant that stomps
and makes an earthquake!

Don't stop bouncing.

3, 4, 5, 6...

7, stop.

Stretch your arms, hug yourself.

Right now.
Polo is shedding tears of rage.

Because you abandoned him.

We abandoned him.
It's our fault.

Yes, maybe it is.

But it's very hard.

It's so hard because it hurts a lot more.

To be abandoned by your mother.

Yes, a woman's betrayal is much harder.
Yes...

By a bad woman.

By a bad mother.

No, I think...

Just when Polo was starting to trust you,
you abandoned him.

We both abandoned him.

Both...

He's a child.

You loved that we all slept in the same bed
so you wouldn't have to fuck me.

I would've adopted a younger boy, but...

Who was going to give you a child?

You taught him to set things on fire.

You wanted him to burn the house down.

So I'd have to... I don't know.

Give him back.

He burned your sister's face.

They thought you were infertile
from getting something and not treating it.

So it's your fault, Gastón.

That we had to do all this shit and
that we adopted a child with a mustache.

It's your fault
that we couldn't stand him.

And it's your fault
that my whole body hurts.

And that people
look at us in public.

Like we suffocated a dog
with a plastic bag.

Do you know why Polo loved you?

- Because he thought you were beautiful.
- No.

Yes.

When we went to pick him up,
he called you "beautiful."

"Hey beautiful, come here."

And you got closer.

You got in his face.

You got closer and flirted all the time.
The grins, everything.

You put your tongue on his teeth.

You undressed in front of him.

That time you put
your nipple in his mouth.

He was my son.

My son can suck my whole body
if he wants.

No...

No, you don't do that to a child.

- You fucked up my life.
- And you fucked me up.

I was a little girl and you
didn't take care of me.

Infertile pig.

- Let's do it again.
- The deer.

And together, legs together.

- Yes.
- The deer.

Sorry to change the subject.
But I don't know what to do.

Or whether to talk to the guidance
counselor or the department head.

But we need tools
to explain it to the children.

What's going on with Polo Valderrama.

- With whom?
- Polo Valderrama, a fourth grader.

Ah... What happened?

Child Protective Services called.
They're removing Polo from school.

Child Protective Services?
Why?

He's sick.

What happened?

They gave him back.

No.

- Oh, no?
- No.

Then I was wrong.

I don't like to get into
people's personal lives.

I'm worried about
how to explain it to the children.

Because they're asking.

And...

I don't want to tell them
"You know what?"

"Polo's parents
don't love him anymore."

"He misbehaved, so they gave him back."

Polo's no longer an adopted child.
He's an orphan again.

You know?
I don't know how to explain it.

Is that true?

Yeah.

Did you give him back?

That's why he isn't here,
because he isn't your son anymore.

That's what I want to explain.

What a shame.

It'd be better to say that Polo went to
live with family in Santiago.

No, we can't say that.

She'll still be teaching here.

Will you keep working here, Ema?

Sure, it's my job.

I have to work, too.

But I don't know if I can keep doing it.
Seeing your face everyday...

Your face... Your hair.

Are you stupid?
Don't you realize what we're saying?

I think Ema should take medical leave.

- What's in it?
- I don't know.

Some kind of domestic violence.

- I don't know.
- You're leaving now?

- Yes, I have an audition.
- What?

- Ok, with a guy or a girl?
- I don't know.

- I have to pay like 300 bucks.
- Ok, last one.

- Is there ice left?
- Yeah, I'll go get it.

- Do you have to call?
- Just a text.

Ema.

Mati.

Gastón.

I'm sorry, Sonia.

It must've been last week.

Tell them it was me.
A performance. A...

Everyone knows it was Polo.

- What's it to you?
- They're going to scream.

- Who?
- All of them, the bad dancers.

We'll leave together. I'll distract them.

And you throw the cat in the street.

Our little boy, Ema...

Holy shit.
What did we do?

What if we get another child?

Ema.

No, it's not my fault.

It wasn't my fault.

- We're going to be ok, right?
- We're fine.

- Oh yeah? We're fine.
- We're ok.

We don't need anything,
people love us.

Do you know who's fine?
Polo.

- He's happy.
- Yeah, he is.

Because he's no longer with us...

I'm going to tell everyone that...

I don't know... That...

It was something
that we did with Polo.

That we kept stuffed animals in
a refrigerator.

And it was for him

and since we saw it...
We got sad and that's why we're leaving.

No, it's not necessary.

They're drunk, they won't realize,
they're having fun.

Yeah...

Yes, I also think
that Polo is realizing it now.

He's absorbing everything, you know?

We are doing it for him.

Because he needs a dad and a mom.

Who love him like he's never been
loved in his whole fucking life.

You don't realize it,
but you're beautiful.

You're gorgeous.

And I'm very lucky to be with you.

What if we have a quickie?

No.

You are a human condom.

You'll never give me a son.

A real son.

I gave you a son.

A real one.

And you just threw him out.

Remember when Polo took your hand
and put it on his chest?

And he said "Mommy."

"Don't leave me, Mommy."

"I close my eyes,
and I feel like you'll leave."

"Don't leave me,
don't abandon me."

He asked for your forgiveness.

I love you.

I love you too. I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Forget it.

- I forgive you
- Yes.

I love you.

How long Polo lived here?

- Only 10 months.
- No it was more.

He was a year with us at least.

- What happened?
- It's nothing.

- Nothing is going on?
- No.

Do you know what's going on?

I did you two a favor.

- A favor?
- Of course I did.

We paid you.

- What the fuck did you say?
- Hey! No.

- Marcela please leave.
- Say it again.

I said we paid you.

Nobody wants to adopt these
Colombian or Venezuelan children.

- Don't say that, it's not true.
- Polo was 7 years old.

6...

Nobody wanted to adopt him?
We did.

Thanks to me.

You manipulated the report for money.

That's not true.
Check my bank account.

All I did was receive the report.

And change the sex.

- And what did it say there?
- Oh, don't you know?

I know, but tell me again.

- You want me to remind you?
- Yes.

Homosexual behaviors. Exhibitionism.

Sexual brutality.

- Shows with blood.
- It was for a performance.

It was just a scene, it's not real.
It's not real life.

It's fiction.
That's my job.

We rehearse something, we act it out.

Gastón is not gay.

This guy?

I just want you to understand.

That the system is made to
cut people like you out.

And I am the system, motherfuckers.

So all those meetings you
had with social workers.

With the psychologists.
They asked us things.

"Are they crazy?"
No, they aren't.

"Do they want to play with dolls?"
No, how could you?

"She's very young for him."
It doesn't matter.

It's all good.

"But he's weird."
You're weird.

What else?
It didn't matter either.

Until the external evaluator came in.

And who saved you?
Everything went wrong.

And who saved you?
I did.

I saved you.

We gave the child up for
adoption, for God's sake.

And then what?

Then the child tests you
because he's intelligent.

And the problems start.

He tells you that you aren't his mom,
because you're not!

And then he sets the house on fire,
burns his aunt's face. So what?

Nonetheless, they're normal things.

I told you, didn't I?

All he wants is that,
in spite of all the shit he does,

You tell him you still love him.

Polo grew up and learned
and now he's calmed down.

Understand?

And what did you do?

You gave him back,
you put him up for adoption again.

And now he's exposed
to any old psychopath.

And?

Maybe not, hopefully not.

I hope he's well.

I hope he's with a good family,
that he has a cell phone.

That he's warm
and safe in his bed.

Drinking strawberry milk.

- Did you see him?
- It's none of your business.

Get it through your thick skull!

Unbelievable.

I don't know.

Perhaps you're not cut out
to be a mother.

And neither are you, fucking psycho!

You're completely insane.

Fix your rotten heads.

Before adopting children.

What was that?

- What?
- See what you did?

Me?

You went to Child Protective Services.
They told you not to.

Why?

I do what I want.

Exactly.
You can't do whatever you want.

You can't do whatever you want.

Dammit. Nobody can stand you now.
You're unbearable!

Nobody in the company can stand you.

- Nobody can stand me?
- No!

Nobody can stand you,
you don't realize it.

I don't give a fuck.
She just told you.

You provoked all this shit.

Everybody knows it.

Everyone.

Thanks, sweetie.

- You can stay as long as you want.
- Thank you.

Where am I gonna sleep?

Here.

- Where is Gastón?
- Fuck Gastón.

Fuck Gastón.

Don't be rude, Mom.

I took you three by the hands
when you were little.

I squeezed you really hard
and I said that we'd always be together.

I don't remember that.

When your dad left.

I don't remember.

I told you to look out for eachother.
Always stick together.

And where do you all live now?

All together.

You all sleep in the same bed.
One on top of the other.

I don't believe that you said that...

How old was I?

Four.

I don't believe you, Mom.

Moms always have to be
with their daughters.

Because children make a family.

And moms can never be
separated from their children.

That's how the world's always been
and how it should stay.

What should I do, Mom?

Do what I would do.
That's what you have to do.

- Was he violent toward you?
- No.

He's not well. That's all.

He has those typical male dilemmas.

Hm, I know what you mean.

And he agrees with this?

I don't know.
I'd have to ask him.

- Ok, but what would he say?
- It'll seem wrong to him.

- He's in love.
- With you?

Yeah.

With me.

Yes, of course.

I mean. What a pity.
Poor guy.

- Poor him?
- Yes, of course.

He's twelve years older than me.

- Twelve?
- Twelve.

Well then, he can go to Hell.

- Have you ever been with an older man?
- Me?

- Sorry.
- No, it's ok.

It's just...

I don't usually talk about myself.

I don't like it.

I mean, it's not that,
it's just that nobody can stand me anymore.

I can stand you.

If you want.

I have to do that,
because you're paying me.

There's a problem.

I don't have money.

To pay you.

So we have a problem.

Because lawyers
we charge for our work.

We're terrible.

Yeah, but it's just a divorce.

You fill out a form, I sign it.

That's it, easy.

You're too much.

I can wash your clothes.
I could cook for you.

Iron.

Pick your kids up from school.
Do you have kids?

Yes.

I can sing.
I can also dance.

- I can walk your dogs.
- Please, dance.

I'm just kidding.

I'm just messing with you.

What are you doing?

And what style is that?

Reggaeton.

You're getting your son back, right?

I don't know.

Hopefully.

Amazing. How exciting.

Awesome.

Ema, you're going to battle.

Maybe we won't see
your beautiful body again.

So we'll say goodbye now.

If you need us to commit a crime,
just call us.

Whatever you need.

We'll be nearby.

It's the right thing.
Isn't it?

Of course.

Will someone kiss me goodbye?

The fuel is called Napalm.
It's a mixture of kerosene and diesel.

Mom.

She likes to buy contraband at the port.

They sold it to her as a
rat killer for the farm.

- To poison them?
- To burn them alive.

- Then Gastón took it.
- Oh right.

He wanted to do this performance,
to get on a boat.

And burn another boat while
we danced on the pier.

But it didn't work.

- Watch out.
- Be careful with that.

- And it feels good?
- Incredibly good.

How good?

Imagine an elephant trunk blasting
a stream of boiling water for 20 seconds.

Amazing.

Male dinosaur cum.

Delicious.

The way it was before:

People burned trees then planted
new seeds so they could eat.

Burn in order to sow again.

Well, the car is hers.
We parked it here.

We went to a friend's house
where we're staying nearby.

- Is the car yours?
- Yes.

- How long have you had it?
- Years.

- A long time?
- Yes.

- Did you ever have any problems with it?
- It was old, but it worked.

Do you have any suspicions?
What do you think happened?

- Trashy people from the hill.
- What does that mean?

Anarchists.

- Are you from Valparaíso?
- No.

- How long have you been here?
- Years.

- So you live here.
- Yes, but we weren't born here.

How long have you been a firefighter?

That's not relevant right now.

Hi.

- How are you?
- Fine and you?

♪ This doesn't make sense anymore ♪

♪ It's no longer friendship ♪

♪ I'm driving you crazy ♪

♪ That's the truth ♪

♪ Now I'm in your jail ♪

♪ And I'll never love again ♪

♪ It's your destiny,
that's more than the truth ♪

How long have you two known eachother?

Not long.

Anibal put out the fire.

With the hose.

Like a superhero.

Some days I am.
At night I work here.

Great, because we don't
have money to pay.

Nothing, nil.
Dine and dash.

After we met,
I went home with that smell.

My burnt smell is different than yours.

You have to get all the smells
from the day. Mine's like gas, see?

Hey, just you. Hey, no.

Hey, stop!
People are watching.

We have to be discrete.

Do you want another drink?

Who's the prettiest?

You're all beautiful, truly unbelievable.

Who's the prettiest?

Laura. Let's see.
You have to let them by.

Sonia, when they come,
you have to let them by.

They're not the dancers.
We're the dancers.

- It all fell apart.
- Come on.

Stop!

We've reached the point
where we're lost, right?

The point of... baaaam!

Did you bring something
to cover yourself up?

Can someone give her something?

Come on. You come running
from over there and you look naked.

And what about you?
Are you gonna do it?

- Or not?
- Sure.

So, how do we finish?

Final position, please.

The position
before all this chaos started.

If you're gonna do it then finish it here.

Where did I finish it?

- Wherever, I don't know.
- Here.

Let's do it again?

Did the choreographer come today?

I'm just saying.

We're paying attention.
Now give us the cues.

You know what? Get out of here.
Really, get out.

We can't work like this.

Just get out.

Gastón.
Are you going to talk or not?

Or should I speak?

I don't know, but we have
to solve this mess.

Look.

I understand that you hate me now.

But I also understand.

When Ema spends 4 nights
in a row without sleep.

Crying. Saying "I can't."

"I can't, I feel like I'm killing him."

And I ask her "Killing him?"

She says "Yes."

"I feel that Polo is my son."

"I love him, but I'm not his mother."

It was you?
Yeah...

I fell for it.

I completely fell for it.

- Gastón.
- Now I see you.

I see all of you and...
You're my family.

We're family.
Although dysfunctional.

And I wonder, damn it, where's Polo?

Where is he?

I mean, he should be here.
He should be taking the jackets.

And making a pallet in the corner.

The way he used to.
Like a puppy taking a nap.

Do you remember how he laughed?

The good times he had with all of you.

Because my son is Colombian.
He dances well.

Colombians are great fucking dancers.

I need you to understand this.

You're firing her, dude.

- No, I'm not firing her.
- Yes, you are.

But it doesn't matter because
this shit ends here.

Sorry, but who are you?
Who gave you the authority to say that?

I'm leaving then.

Keep doing your fucking folklore.

- Great, if you don't like it then leave.
- I'm leaving voluntarily, idiot.

Then voluntarily grab your stuff and go.

The problem is that Ema isn't
leaving voluntarily.

No, before I wasn't.
But now I want to leave.

- Go somewhere else to dance reggaeton.
- You shut up.

You're a tourist here.

A typical cruise tourist who takes photos
and thinks they know the history of the port.

Go out on the street.

When's the last time you moved your ass?

You have this idea of an imaginary
street that existed 100 years ago.

You play beautiful music in the port
so it looks like Paris.

It was never like that.

That's why everything has to be destroyed.

Other music has to be danced.

Something that scares a tourist like you...

- Push her hair inside.
- Yes.

- Very pretty.
- I swear you look beautiful.

Really.

You can't tell.
I swear it looks real.

- Are you sure?
- Yes, totally.

I wouldn't recognize you on the street.

I swear. You can pull it.
Look, it's great quality.

It's hurting her.

No it isn't, don't be silly.

Look, when she feels that the wig
is part of her, then it will start to hurt.

- Mom, that'll never happen.
- Yes it will, it's on your head.

- Look at it.
- You look cute.

It looks horrible, like doll hair!

- Hey, don't talk to me like that.
- It looks like doll hair!

You're overreacting!
Don't beat yourself up.

- Why shouldn't I?
- You're overreacting.

- Dammit, Mom!
- It's not my fault.

I'm deformed.
I look like a dog.

It's not my fucking fault.

I wasn't the fool who poured alcohol
on my face and burned it.

It was that unwanted fucking bastard.

Why did you give him back?

We didn't give Polo back
because he burned your hair.

Then why did you do it?

All this time you thought we gave
him back because of you?

He tried to kill me.

- He tried to kill me.
- He was a kid.

He was playing with matches.

Then why didn't he try to kill you?

- He tried to do many things.
- To kill you?

I don't think so.

- I'm not asking for it. I'm offering it.
- What?

- What?
- Huh?

I've been doing it
since I was a little girl.

I take him into the bathroom,
pull down his pants,

And I grab it.
Without sucking it.

Absolutely no sucking.

- But it's your idea, right?
- Yes, it is.

But sometimes the guy
is a little tense.

A little violent.

- I can't believe it.
- And what else?

- Then I take his hand.
- Ok?

I take him into the stall.
I close the door and stare at him.

And I say:
"Please don't tell anyone."

"I've never done this before."

I act like I'm stupid
and I start going at it.

- I say, "Don't stick it in. I'm on my period."
- Unbelievable.

- Ok
- It really works.

The dick is one thing.

But the anthropological interest
is to look at their face.

They change, drastically.

They get a stupid look on their faces.
Like little boys.

They show their true colors, you know?

And then they fall in love.

They call me, they write to me.
I don't answer.

- Really?
- Then he starts to fall apart.

He suffers, he cries.

He becomes nothing...
I'm not interested in sex.

I'm interested in emotion.

I like the mess.
The twisted power it has.

How do we know you don't blow him?

Because you have to be
in love to do that.

- What's love?
- I'm love.

Ema got turned on.

I was already horny.

- Have you thought about me?
- All the time.

And about you.

About you.

About you.

About you.

I have two sisters and my dad died.

How did he die?

- Sorry.
- It's ok, I want to tell you.

He was addicted to poker.

He lost everything, ran away, threw
himself into the sea, drowned and died.

He was even taking pills.

Nobody gave him mouth-to-mouth.

Do you know how to do that?

Mouth-to-mouth breathing?
Of course.

- Did you feel that?
- Yes.

- Did you like it?
- You saved my life.

I'm married, Ema.

Me too.

Actually, I just hired a lawyer
to start the divorce.

I haven't done this in a long time.

God damn.

I'm like that.
I'm always thinking about good and evil.

And I always opt for the good.

Well, there's a problem. I'm evil.

Oh, yeah?

Yes.

- I've been with a lot of women.
- How many?

- A lot.
- And?

I've heard that before. "I'm evil".

So many women say they're perverse.

Or evil, the worst. Why?

- Ok, and I said that?
- Yes.

I'm going to horrify you.

- Horrify me?
- When you know what I'm doing and why.

You will be horrified.

Why wait? Scare me now.

I sleep with my mom.

In the same bed.

Very childish, right?

- Not at all. I'd do the same.
- Why don't you?

Because I don't have a mom.

And I have to sleep with my wife.

Well, what a pity.
Your wife is going to sleep alone tonight.

- Are we going to sleep together?
- Right here.

- Do you have any diseases?
- No.

Me neither.

And I didn't bring a condom.

How do you like it?

Do you like her?

Yes.

But she always wants to talk about you.

I thought you were going
to sleep with a man now.

I thought about that, too.

But I like her.

- Thanks.
- She wanted it.

She asked for my permission, actually.

Oh, that was nice.
It's good.

Send me your friend to be with me.

Go ahead.

She's pretty.
Look at her...

But I can also sleep with
someone if I want to.

Maybe I already slept with someone.

Maybe I'm already dating someone.

You already did it?

I met someone.

- Are you gonna tell me everything?
- Everything.

What happens if you like him a lot?

I'm sure I'll like him a lot.

What does he look like?

I don't know.
I haven't seen him naked yet.

But he has big fingers like bananas.

We're married.

We have children.

This is a separation with children.

Remember when the doctor made
you go into that room with some porn.

And you came out with your
little bottle of semen.

I liked the waiting room
and seeing the men with their women.

And then you came out with red lips.

After orgasming into
in that sweaty little bottle.

Awesome.

With that look of failure.
It was so great.

"Oh, don't leave me Mommy."

"Oh Mommy, don't leave me alone."

"Hold my hand."

"Hey, Mom."

"Mommy Ema".

"I love you."

I'm going to make sure you
never forget what he told you.

You have to go back to the house.

For what?

You can't leave me here alone.

You leave me alone.
You start dancing to that shitty music.

All just to piss me off.

You leave me out.

After something so terrible.
So frightening.

Like what we did.

We have to stick together.

At least for two years.

- This hand looks great.
- Oh, really?

The other one isn't very good.
So I'll only charge you 300 bucks.

Thank you.

- And how much for the feet?
- It's on the house.

So generous, thanks.

- You have a thief's hands.
- Why?

Long fingers.

Do you like working here?

I have to earn money.

How much will the divorce cost?

100 haircuts and 300 manicures.

Deal.

Hey.

Tell your friend that we have
something special for locals.

What's that?

It's a group thing.

Delicious but very dirty.

- I won't leave my family.
- It's okay.

Do you want me to leave them?

Absolutely not!

- Beg me.
- What?

- To leave my family.
- No.

- I'm not like that.
- And what are you like?

When I got married, I thought.

"With this woman...
I'll start a civilization".

- And it didn't work out?
- No.

My wife is a mountain.
She doesn't move, she creaks.

She fell in love with me.

She says I'm like a Teddy bear.

- Is that good?
- No, I don't think so.

My wife sleeps naked, and so do I.

But she sleeps on top of me.
It suffocates me.

And I wake up gasping, so I thought:

"With her strength and my courage,
we can create a town."

A culture.

- You're not ashamed to say that?
- But it's true.

I don't mind falling apart
or disappearing.

That's why I'm not afraid of you.

Why would you be afraid of me?
I like you.

I'm going to take care of you.

I'm going to take my clothes off
and sleep under you.

I bet all the people in the hills
think we're all sluts, dancing like this.

They love it.

I don't know.
I think we have to go to the street more.

They think we do this for them,
but we do it for us.

Are you going to come
to all the rehearsals?

I'm reading.

See how many people
came to see you?

Maybe it's people with bad taste.

They don't like this music.

It disgusts them, imagine that.

You should learn it.
People who dance well, fuck well.

I can dance well.

Are you gonna fuck?

- Is he your husband or not?
- It doesn't matter.

The problem is that he isn't so good.

I'm happy, Ema.
I'm delighted.

- But a little worried honestly.
- What?

Worried.

Why are you dancing to this shitty music?

- Must I explain?
- Don't explain, it's embarrassing!

- What music?
- This crap you're doing.

What?

What do you expect?

What do you mean?

It's prison music.

It's music to listen to in prison.

The whole damn day.

To keep you from thinking.

To forget about the prison you're in
and recreate it in your mind.

To forget about the bars
you have in front of you.

That's it.

It's a hypnotic rhythm that
turns you into a fool.

It's an illusion of freedom.

So that people don't think.
Yes, no, sex, drugs, yes.

Heroine yes, orgies yes.

But the next day, boom!
You have to go to work.

And you were convinced by someone.

That if you moved your little hips,
you'd be freer.

But no. Not at all.

It's falling asleep in defeat.

Living in Ibiza.

Picking up and moving to LA,

To take selfies there all the time.

And to do exactly the same thing.
It's a culture of violence.

Where women
become purely sexual objects.

And men are beasts who
always screws women over.

All while trying to fuck them.

That's just what they want.
That's the rhythm.

"Don't rebel, don't think.
Give it to me, give it to me."

I can't believe you're dancing
reggaeton, for Christ's sake!

Everything we studied and felt.
Everything we've practiced.

And with you!

All those damn fights we had.
All the struggles.

How we laughed at all of them!
You laughed at all these girls.

The very same ones.
Laughing your ass off, huh.

Screw them! Screw reggaeton.

Fuck everything!

I'm sick of this.

Polo liked reggaeton.

Who is Polo?

You saw us dancing and you said...

“Nice.”

What's nice?

I don't know what that means.

I guess you do.
Because you're smarter than us, right?

The only thing I know is...

I don't like what I feel
when I see something nice.

Now I like dancing much more.
Because it's like fucking, happy.

With a flushed face, cussing.

Hot, crazy, sexy, moving.

And all of the sudden, bam!
I'm surrounded by people.

And they're all as horny as me.

Moving as if they were fucking.
But with music.

It's delicious, motherfucker.

That's life.
And I dance life.

Today, you're alive and you're here,

Because someone at some
point got hot and had an orgasm.

And today, that orgasm can be danced.

- How was I?
- Good.

- Did you like it?
- Yes, very much.

Was it good?

♪ Between your body and mine ♪

♪ There are universes that you must see ♪

♪ Between your body and mine ♪

♪ If my body is real, my tongue is real ♪

♪ If my hair is real, my voice is real ♪

♪ if my chest is real, my shadow is real ♪

♪ And if my hunger is real,
my struggle is real ♪

♪ I don't drink nor will I ♪

♪ Fanning my flames
doesn't give you power ♪

♪ Your government is violence ♪

♪ Don't tell me that's it... ♪

- This is dance?
- Yes.

Here it says you resigned in October,
that's half a semester.

I had a family tragedy, but I'm fine now.

Oh, that's good.

I can do anything.
Administrative work, whatever.

We had a teacher who taught folk dancing.

- How about that?
- Yes, I can do that, too.

I don't like that kind of dance.
I find it very old-fashioned.

The children look dressed up.

In those wool hats
doing that dance, called...

- Like the trot of Tarapacá.
- Tarapaqueño.

Tarapaqueño, yes.

I don't like those things.
I find them very old-fashioned.

It's not what I like to teach, so it's ok.

- What do you like to teach?
- Freedom.

I teach children to move freely.

That's good.

Because they learn to be
expressive with their bodies.

With their small arms,
or with an expressive spine.

Because they're always sitting,
looking at their phones.

They always express
themselves with their bodies.

When they fight, dance, play.

Great! Because they learn
to rebel against control.

To rebel against authority.

- I'm sorry, that's not my goal.
- No, no, relax.

I'm not a dictator. Not at all.

It's just that...

I hate all that discipline.
I can't stand it.

You shouldn't tell anyone that,
because here I am...

- Principal.
- Yes, the principal.

I have to rule with an iron fist,
you know?

Sometimes people aren't what they seem.

Totally. I'm bipolar.

I love what you're telling me.

Sorry, I know this is
another kind of meeting.

But that's what I think,
I'm just saying.

But I love it.

- Do they practice every day?
- Every day.

- You have strong abs?
- Right now, yes, very.

Very strong.

I've always liked to dance.

It's a way of rebelling against my mother.
She's crazy and conservative.

All my life she told me I was ugly.
"Little girl, you are so ugly."

"You're ugly."

Do you think I'm ugly?

No.

She forced me to take ballet classes.
Then I left.

And I started dancing again because
I fell in love with a choreographer.

Head over heels in love.

In the end, everything was worth it.
For the children.

I understand you...

because for a long time.
I was a very famous musician's girlfriend.

But I can't tell you his name.

Artists are so intense, huh?

How do you do it?

They're mad, they're crazy people.

You have to compliment them.

And tell them that they're the best
thing in the universe.

That's where I went wrong.

It's just that I didn't have your...

- Your wisdom.
- I don't know anything.

Yes, you do.

You know much more than all these people.

You'll have to take a test.

Although you're an excellent teacher.

I don't draw very well, sorry.

What's this?

A house.

- And that?
- Flowers.

And who waters the flowers?

- They have water.
- Oh, ok.

- Was I supposed to draw people?
- No.

- You said a house, and I drew one.
- Yeah, sure.

- Sometimes houses have people inside.
- It does, but they're not home.

- Where are they?
- At a party.

- Is this part of the evaluation?
- What?

Having to explain everything.

You don't want that
to be in the evaluation?

I don't want to interfere with your work,
I'm sorry.

- Are you interfering with my work?
- I don't know.

No.

Sorry.

Why isn't there any food here?

I don't know.

- Don't you want to answer?
- I want to.

- I don't want you to think it's a sad house.
- Why?

Because I don't want you to think...

That I'm antisocial or depressed
or something like that.

There's a list of everything that
should appear in this drawing.

I compare that list with your drawing
and that's how I get a score.

Have I done well?

I have to look at the list.

Isn't there a test that measures honesty?

Yes, but I'm not familiar with it.

How absurd.

It's my life.

Sorry.

Don't worry.

I like it, actually.

- How did it go?
- Well.

They hired me.

You're close.

- Hey, let me go.
- Ema.

Ema! God dammit. Ema!

- Hey, let me go!
- Ema!

Ema, let me go.

You're breaking up with me?

No, I'm not.
Because we don't have a relationship.

We don't? Yes, we do.

And you're going to miss me.

- I don't want to.
- But, you will.

I don't want to because
I'm crazy jealous.

Well, if you want me to see you.

Call me and I can be here at any time.

- Really?
- Yeah.

And what would you do?

Well, I'd arrive and greet you.

I'd talk to you and feed you.
I'd do whatever you want.

- Really?
- Yeah.

What if I just wanted a kiss?
Would you come?

Of course.

And what would that kiss be like?

Like this.

- Oh, Ema.
- What?

- Marry me, Ema.
- In white.

In white.

- But we'd have to be in love.
- It's true.

And that's a problem
because I'm not in love with you.

I'm not in love with you either.

- Damn. You're not in love with me?
- Not yet.

- Please. Don't do this to me.
- What?

- Tell me the truth.
- I don't know if I'm in love with you.

- I don't know what I'm gonna do.
- Well...

You can go back to your family
and I can disappear.

Is that what you want or not?

- I don't know. I can't do this.
- It's not so terrible.

We could be happy together.

Come in. How are you?

Hi.

- Hi Ema, welcome.
- Thank you.

Good morning.

Good morning, kids.

Good morning, teacher.

- How are you doing?
- Fine.

My name is Ema.

I'm your new body expression teacher.

Let's form a circle in
the middle of the room

Polo, sweetie come.

- Are you ok?
- Yes.

I hope you'll forgive me someday.

When you grow up.

I was a bad person.

I'm sorry.
I did bad things, too.

No. You behaved well.

Really, very good.

I wanted to be your mom.

Since they didn't let me,
I tried to be your teacher.

You're gonna have a baby brother.

Really?

Yes.

I already told your mom that
we took you out of school.

That's good.

She's my mom.

- How are you?
- Fine.

Fine?

- Do you like it?
- You look beautiful.

Who cut it?

She did.

She's my mom and he's my dad.

Say hi.

- Sorry.
- Hi.

- Nice to meet you, Gastón.
- Anibal, it's a pleasure.

- Hello
- Nice to meet you.

Hey.

She's pregnant and the baby
will be my brother.

Oh, yeah? That's great.

How many months?

16 weeks.

He's a child!

Have it...

Have your baby.

Polo is fine now.
Leave us alone please.

This child can be both of ours.

I'm sure it will be a girl,
just as pretty as you.

I can't.

And I'd like to see you.

To touch you.

You're so perfect. I'd like to see...

How you get fat and get stretch marks.

How your breasts grow.

And feel...

I've always had the fantasy...

Of asking a pregnant woman...

To get naked and lie on top of me
so I could feel the heartbeats.

Both heartbeats, as if they were mine.

It could be like that with you.

But with you it's something else
because there's something sexual as well.

Well.

That's not going to happen.

The only thing I wanted was to tell Polo
that all of this was a mistake.

A huge mistake.

That I didn't want to abandon him.

How could I tell him if I didn't
know where he lived, so...

I paid a psychologist
from Child Protective Services.

She told me
where Polo's new parents lived.

I thought about how
to have him close again.

So, I decided to have a baby with Anibal.

The baby would always be part of
Polo's life and they'd grow up together.

So I could always be close to Polo.

Then, I met Raquel.

And she was sad.

A kind of sadness that I knew very well.

Like when a child tells you
that you aren't their mother.

And your marriage begins to fall apart.

I actually think that
it's very hard to describe Ema.

We are in front of a
character of characters,

and as Pablo Larraín says

she's such a complex woman,
very enigmatic,

hypnotic, sensual,

she knows what she wants and

will not stop until she gets it.

She fills the spaces like nobody else does.

Ema is liberation,

Ema is danger,

Ema is like the Sun,

is like the fire
of her flame-thrower.

You really want to be close to her,

but you have to be careful

because you can get burnt!

And of course you may,

or may not agree with what she does,

you can understand it,
or no.

But somehow

or another,
she's going to get to you

and she's going to conquer you.

When Pablo finally called me to
say he was going to make this film,

and that he wanted me
to be the lead actress,

we immediately started
with the dance training,

with Jose Luís Vidal's company

and with another choreographer,
Mona Valenzuela.

And personally I had some

ballet and pilates lessons,
to try and improve my posture

and to try and look like
a professional dancer.

We worked for two months,
a little bit more,

and in parallel we had

look meetings, costume meetings,

some camera tests,
some lighting tests.

I actually never read a
script, we didn't make...

We didn't do table work.

No rehearsals.

So it was a very

'here and now' job,

that requires a lot of concentration,
and very good communication

with Pablo, with Gael,
with the rest of the team.

It was very challenging.

And yes, regarding to the,

to the dance part,
to the reggaeton part.

Every day we started or ended up
dancing, sometimes both.

I remember dancing on
the streets of Valparaíso

while the producer was holding a wireless
speaker, and another member of the team

asked the passengers

by not to look at the
camera, and...

Diego 'Dieguito' from the Steadicam
trying to not to trip, while...

While he was trying to
follow my dance steps!

It was a very challenging,

challenging work.
Very beautiful team work, and

we were all infected with
dance, with movement.

With sensuality.

I think that this film

that Ema is a portrait
of a generation.

A generation that is different from Pablo's

from Gael's, from mine.

This "Ema generation".

Young people who
have lost their fear,

who are setting
new precedents...

That know the power
of the collective,

of the tribe, of walking as one voice.

Friends who are lovers,

lovers who are friends.

New ways of love,

they are building their families,
their diverse families.

They dance reggaeton
on the streets,

they dance reggaeton at parties,

and they can go to a feminist
demonstration the next day

the next morning and
it's all ok with that.

Free young people,

brave young people,
agents of change

from whom, at least
I have a lot to learn.