Jacques Audiard‘s Emilia Pérez, which won the Jury Prize and the Best Actress Award for Karla Sofía Gascón at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, is one of the most impressive and visionary films of the 2024 awards season. Emilia Pérez won four of its ten nominations at the recent 82nd Golden Globe Awards: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language, Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña, and Best Original Song for El Mal composed by Clément Ducol and singer-songwriter Camille. The film successfully synthesizes Audiard’s previous efforts, from A Prophet (2009) to Dheepan (2015), marking a step forward in his career and paving the way for the upcoming Academy Awards.

While it is true that Emilia Pérez explores and plays one of the themes that viewers have become accustomed to finding in Audiard’s films – redemption – its novelty lies in the variety of genres it mixes: musical, crime, melodrama. And as if that were not enough, all of this takes place in a universe that is anything but evident when we think of the musical, the world of the Mexican cartels. Through this skillfully crafted medley of genres, Audiard addresses one of the leading issues of contemporary debate: gender.

Overall, the value of Emilia Pérez lies precisely in its ability to exploit mainstream genres to bring to a broad audience a reflection on a matter generally confined to academic debates or instrumentalized by politicians without any genuine aim to delve into it. However, the film has not failed to be at the center of heated controversies and public debates.

• A Gangster Transition
• The Body as a Battlefield
• The Past’s Weight
• Emilia Pérez’s Cultural Disconnect
• Musical Metamorphosis
• A Record-breaking film

A Gangster Transition

Audiard explained that reading Boris Razon‘s 2018 novel, Écoute, gave him the idea to make a film about a transgender criminal. Initially, Audiard wrote a libretto for a four-act opera, which eventually morphed into Emilia Pérez.

The story centers on Juan “Manitas” Del Monte (Karla Sofía Gascón), a ruthless cartel kingpin who presents as a man but identifies as a woman and who, for years, has buried her unspoken desire for gender-affirming surgery to fulfill what her society promotes: being a power-hungry, aggressive, and cynical man. When Manitas decides to undergo the surgery clandestinely, the plot gains momentum. To accomplish this, Manitas enlists the help of Rita Castro (Zoe Saldaña). Rita is a skilled lawyer who feels trapped in a corrupt, male-dominated legal system. Bound by their shared struggle against societal constraints, the two form an unlikely pact that sets the stage for a daring transformation.

The Body as a Battlefield

Audiard’s message is clear: transition is essential for Manitas to redeem herself from past violence, and it is much more than physical change. It is an emotional and moral journey, a profound struggle to reshape one’s relationship with the world. In a pivotal scene where she persuades a doctor to perform the gender-affirming surgery on Manitas, Rita emphasizes that our bodies are far from natural.

They are the product of socio-cultural meanings that dictate their roles and possibilities. Changing one’s gender is, therefore, not just about altering one’s appearance – it’s about redefining one’s place in the world. For Manitas, becoming a woman is a chance to escape the crushing expectations of masculinity.

The Past’s Weight

But liberation from social constraints doesn’t erase the past. As Rita and Manitas show, different bodies come with different expectations and burdens, but some scars run more profound than the surface. For Manitas, a life of violence built on bloodshed and oppression has left its mark not only on her body but also on her mind. The complete transformation will require more than a physical change – confronting the weight of her actions and their lasting effects.

In short, Emilia Pérez reminds us of a simple truth: any transitions are always gradual. While the film handles Manitas’ gender reassignment in time-lapse, a choice that sparked controversy among those who wanted a more realistic portrayal, her moral transformation unfolds throughout the film.

Emilia Pérez‘s Cultural Disconnect

The casting of Emilia Pérez has generated considerable controversy, particularly in Mexico. Of the film’s principal actors, only Adriana Paz is fluent in Mexican Spanish, creating a noticeable linguistic and cultural disconnect. This decision, while consistent with Jacques Audiard’s style – known for prioritizing emotional intensity over geographical fidelity – has drawn criticism for what many see as a superficial engagement with the local context. Audiard’s admission in an interview has exacerbated such concerns that he did not study Mexican culture in depth before making the film. Also, the casting director’s claim that they couldn’t find good Mexican actresses sounds somewhat problematic. Even Selena Gomez‘s performance as Jessi Del Monte, Manitas’s US-raised wife, received criticism.

While Emilia Pérez is undeniably a work of fiction, cultural respect in storytelling remains pertinent. While it is difficult to establish a universal standard for the degree of accuracy required to honor a specific culture, it seems fair to suggest that hiring Mexican actors would have been a prudent step toward achieving greater authenticity.

Musical Metamorphosis

The connection between melodrama and crime allows Audiard to create a queer gangster character willing to embrace her wounds instead of burying them, an approach reminiscent of Barry Jenkins‘ Oscar-winning Moonlight (2016). However, Audiard’s commitment to renewing cinematic tradition also extends to his use of music. Drawing on a literary tradition dating back to the Greek tragedian Euripides, he uses choral music to externalize his protagonists’ inner struggles and moral dilemmas, linking their turmoil to societal constraints. Music becomes a tool of liberation, allowing the characters to express the otherwise unspeakable and serving as a profound metaphor for the transition itself. Even in his musical choices, Audiard shows eclecticism, creating a contrast that reflects the protagonist’s duality: traditional mariachi music pairs with contemporary pop.

Anchoring one of the film’s climactic moments is the standout song, El Mal, performed by Zoe Saldaña. Composed by Clément Ducol and Camille, the song was developed during pre-production, with Camille initially providing a rough version. After working with Saldaña, they refined the arrangement to suit her vocal style, eventually opting for a live rock band to achieve a more acoustic and raw sound. The choreography accompanying El Mal is equally striking, blending theatrical stylization with subtle gestures of personal struggle and release. This combination heightens the emotional stakes of the performance, making it a centerpiece of the film’s exploration of identity and liberation.

A Record-breaking film

In conclusion, Emilia Pérez exemplifies a fluid and multifaceted film that tackles a theme already explored in multiple works with a flicker of originality to tell a story of self-discovery and redemption. Rejecting comforting narratives, it emphasizes that the essence of transformation lies in the ongoing journey of self-reinvention.

The film’s success underscores its landmark accomplishments: it received the second-highest Golden Globe nominations in history. In addition, Gascón made history as the first trans woman to be nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, reinforcing the film’s commitment to breaking barriers on and off-screen.