As 2019 draws to a close, a brand-new slate of movies awaits us, spanning musicals, thrillers and superhero follow-ups. Here are our most-anticipated titles – all coming soon to a cinema near you.
Ema
“When you know what I’m doing and why, you will be horrified.” These words, equal parts seductive and alarming, succinctly sum up their speaker Ema, played with a steely resolve by the Chilean actress Mariana Di Girolamo. Eerily alluring she may be, but our slippery protagonist escapes easy categorisation. She is a reggaeton dancer, setting alight the Valparaíso streets with her explosive movements (and the fiery jets spurting from her flamethrower). She is a grieving mother lamenting the loss of her adopted son, who she returned to child services after tiring of his destructive pyromania. She is an intense lover exploring her sexuality through her incendiary romance with Gaston (a laconic Gael García Bernal). Ema constructs an elaborate prism of subterfuge – reacting to situations with a calculated unpredictability akin to Gone Girl’s canonical antiheroine Amy Dunne – that is mesmerising to watch. Awash with acid-bright colours and hypnotic dance sequences, the movie is an adrenaline-jolting marvel, burning with raging passion.
‘Ema’ is released in cinemas and on Mubi in spring 2020.
