La ola

Hyper-kinetic and politically committed, LA OLA is a combative, eye-catching and fiercely intense musical. Inspired by Chile’s 2018 feminist student uprising, Sebastián Lelio and his three women cowriters channel activism into a story charged with emotion and accusations level at the backward, sexist patriarchy. Julia, a workingclass music student, becomes a symbol of collective struggle after a non-consensual sexual encounter with her teaching assistant. As feminist awareness grows, the film turns into a wave of dance which floods the university halls. Students demand accountability for sexual misconduct. Rage runs through every frame via slogans, lyrics and, above all, choreography; here, bodies are weapons. Abusers, for their part, are frozen in twisted grimaces. Haunting music and dynamic camerawork paradoxically deepen the sense of paralysis surrounding the silence of survivors’, predators’ control and institutional apathy. As reality blurs, walls crack open, revealing intimate spaces—like the room where Julia was abused—to be part of a vast, all-engulfing labyrinth. With raw urgency, LA OLA reminds us: rage is not the end, but rather the beginning of resistance. (Maria Giovanna Vagenas)

Sebastián Lelio (selection): FRAGMENTOS URBANOS (2002), LA SAGRADA FAMILIA (2006), NAVIDAD (2009), EL AÑO DEL TIGRE (2011), GLORIA (2013), UNA MUJER FANTÁSTICA (2017), DISOBEDIENCE (2017), GLORIA BELL (2018), EL PRODIGIO (2022)