‘Elisa & Marcela’ Review: A Poignant Biographical Film

Isabel Coixet’s biographical drama Elisa & Marcela (2019) is both heart-wrenching and sweet, telling the real-life story of Elisa Sánchez Loriga and Marcela Gracia Ibeas, two women who married in Spain in 1901- more than 100 years before same sex marriage was legalized. The film portrays the hardships that Elisa and Marcela faced, while also showing the deep love between the two that caused them to go to such lengths to stay together.

In the film, Elisa (Natalia de Molina) and Marcela (Greta Fernández) meet at school, where they grow close and their relationship quickly turns romantic. They struggle through the many obstacles in their path as a woman-loving-woman couple in late 19th- to- early- 20th- century Spain, and Elisa eventually poses as a man so that the two can marry. Upon discovery of Elisa’s true identity, they face even more problems.

Despite the fact that Elisa and Marcela have to hide their relationship and face a lot of struggles due to it, the relationship itself is adorable in the film. The two have fantastic chemistry and seem drawn together from the first time they meet. They also fall in love in a delightful manner, and many of their scenes radiate sweetness, such as one where they play in the ocean together. It’s quite clear why they are willing to face discrimination and danger to be together.

The film is pretty in black and white, though the black and white feels somewhat unnecessary at points. I almost wondered what it might have looked like had that choice not been made. It also felt a bit slow, at points lacking the gripping quality that seems important to telling a real-life story such as this one in a manner that is entertaining all the way through.

I think that Elisa & Marcela does a great job of telling a very important story, emphasizing the fact that marriage and even simple existence were — and still are — dangerous for many LGBTQ+ people. The film ends by listing statistics about how many countries in the world have legalized same-sex marriage, versus the large number that have not, some of which even punish homosexuality with the death penalty. While some of the film shows the sweet side of the relationship between these two women, the grim tone of much of the film emphasizes the more harsh reality — both of the film’s time period and the present day in many places.