EMA Film Review — Dancing To The Beat Of Your Own Drum

When they are not dancing, Ema tells the characters’ story in a similarly stylized and sensual manner.  The colors of the characters’ clothing and surroundings are saturated and diverse. The dialogue has its own particular rhythm and cadence. Ema is not a musical, despite the significant amount of runtime dedicated purely to dance. Think instead of a music video, with stylistic edits, and scenic locations. 

We follow Ema, the titular character, who is a teacher, dancer, and married to her troupe leader, Gastón, played by Gael García Bernal. We are first introduced to her when she is dealing with the consequences of an initially vague but serious accident involving her sister that forced her and Gastón to return their adopted son to child services, an act that has severely affected their reputation in the community. As a result, Ema leaves her job as a teacher, and we journey with her as she attempts to get their child back. 

It’s a tumultuous journey—at every moment threatening to tear Ema and Gastón's marriage apart. They look straight into the camera while arguing with each other. Both speak candidly and bluntly, never holding back any thoughts as to who they believe is at fault in their marriage. They saying the cruelest thing they can think of that they know will cause the most pain. In some scenes, they will argue, and on the turn of a dime, will change their moods, apologize and profess their love. 

The couple also argues about dance and music. Gastón asserts that the more contemporary, electronic soundtracks that we see the dance company perform to are the superior form of music for dancing. We hear this kind of music from the very opening of the film, where the dance company, huddled in a large crowd, is dressed in white in a dark room in front of a large screen that displays a massive star.