Chilean director Sebastian Lelia’s A Fantastic Woman assumes nothing in its depiction of a trans woman whose partner dies suddenly, leaving her to contend with the man’s abrasive and transphobic ex-wife and brutish son as she comes to grips with the meaning of their relationship and her place in the world. The narrative does not ride on the back of current political disputes and activist sloganeering. The film’s lead is not heroic just supremely human. Daniela Vega is stoic and nearly regal in her bearing as the beset Marina, who simply wants to salvage some element of happiness out of a horrible situation.
