Sebastián Lelio’s Uneven Feminist Musical

In 2019, a 12 months after swells of protests swept via universities in Chile, a bunch of ladies, a lot of them blindfolded, took over the streets of Valparaiso, a coastal metropolis within the nation, to bop and sing a track that might go on to develop into an anthem. The efficiency was organized by LASTESIS, an interdisciplinary and trans-inclusive feminist collective, and it was their method of becoming a member of the worldwide attain of the #MeToo motion. The lyrics to the track translated roughly to “A Rapist in Your Path” and even in the event you can’t perceive the phrases, the demonstration is highly effective. 

There are equally affecting scenes in Sebastián Lelio’s The Wave, a spirited musical movie concerning the 2018 college protests. The characteristic, which premiered at Cannes exterior the principle competitors, chronicles the fictional experiences of a pupil named Julia (Daniela López), who wrestles with the realities of a latest sexual assault throughout the context of this burgeoning motion.

The Wave is an bold spectacle, with Lelio (A Improbable Girl, The Surprise) combining energetic songs and dance sequences with surrealist touches to inform a narrative of ladies’s empowerment. Aesthetic prospers abound, which make it an entertaining viewing expertise, however one does want that the narrative was a contact extra advanced. Lelio embeds some compelling meta-textual moments — ones that largely tackle that proven fact that he’s a person tackling this topic — however the precise story of Julia can really feel secondary to the melodic pageantry.

Nonetheless, with the stateside recognition of Emilia Perez, which premiered at Cannes final 12 months, The Wave may discover a significant viewers within the U.S. ought to it get distribution. Lelio’s movie is extra coherent in its politics than it’s dramatically, and will resonate on that stage with youthful arthouse viewers. 

After we meet Julia, she’s going residence together with her TA, Max (Lucas Sáez Collins). How their night ends stays a thriller (Lelio movies the couple stumbling into Max’s house and the door closing to us), but it surely haunts Julia. The next day at college, the ladies and nonbinary college students marshal their friends to affix an illustration condemning how the college handles sexual assault instances. The protests takes the varsity by storm, and shortly extra ladies really feel empowered to talk up about their experiences.

Julia, considerably reluctantly, joins the organizing efforts and turns into a member of a working group tasked with accumulating survivor testimonies. Listening to all of those testimonies, which Lelio stitches along with the assistance of editor Soledad Salfate, compels Julia to return ahead together with her personal story. 

The Wave, which was written by Lelio, Manuela Infante, Josefina Fernández and Paloma Sala, tackles many features of the #MeToo motion — and dynamics inside organizing communities extra broadly — with good intentions. That mentioned, the outcomes might be shaky. A part of the problem stems from the truth that Julia isn’t a sturdy sufficient anchor; her character at occasions feels flat.

The college pupil initially struggles to talk up as a result of she’s working-class and on scholarship, whereas her assaulter comes from relative wealth. There’s a compelling thread regarding these class variations, in addition to the truth that Max considers himself to be an excellent man. This complicates the in any other case easy narrative by imbuing it with increased stakes. One needs that The Wave additional embraced this sort of grey space and the challenges that crop up in real-world instances involving sexual violence. 

Sadly, for probably the most half, particularly early on, The Wave sticks to the floor, providing a narrative that may really feel like Feminism 101. There’s additionally an overplayed metaphor about utilizing one’s voice that ideas into cliché over the course of this 2-hour-plus movie. To his credit score, Lelio does take extra dangers within the second half of The Wave, when he breaks the fourth wall and provides surrealist touches that successfully blur the strains between Julia’s actuality and her reminiscences.

In an thrilling flip, the director additionally focuses on tensions that kind inside organizing communities due to competing targets or consolation ranges with sure actions. Julia finally falls right into a sororal relationship with Rafa (Lola Bravo), Luna (Avril Aurora) and Tamara (Paulina Cortés), three different ladies who encourage her to confront her reminiscences and report Max to college directors. 

Even when it falls brief, The Wave boasts a dedication to its entrancing maximalist aesthetics (Benjamín Echazarreta serves as DP, Estefanía Larraín is the manufacturing designer and Muriel Parra does costumes). Lelio gathers an ensemble of greater than 100 performers to stage dramatic dances (with choreography by Ryan Heffington) to rousing musical picks (music is by Matthew Herbert) concerning the problem of talking up as a survivor, the manipulative techniques utilized by assailants, in addition to the violent ineptitude of college directors. The large numbers are anthemic, and simply as affecting as LASTESIS’ enduring protest track.