Arguably Audiard’s best film since The Prophet, EMILIA PEREZ is La La Land meets Narc by way of The Crying Game. EMILIA PEREZ is, if nothing else, brash, brazen, bruising and audacious.
Jacques Audiard utilises every tool in his cinematic arsenal to illustrate this tale of one human being’s amazing journey of self-discovery. Incorporating elements of film noir and melodrama, expressed operatically through passionate colour, music and dance, EMILIA PEREZ defies conventional classification, crossing genre and gender boundaries in leaps and bounds.
The film’s leading lady, Karla Sofía Gascón, cartel king pin turned queen philanthropist, creates one of the most indelible heroines yet seen on screen, while the other two female stars, Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez, are no slouch either, pulsating with their own riotous energies.
Audiard the audacious, lubricates the rusted machinery of conventional crime sagas with camp choreography and obtrusive libretto which catapults the genre into a surprising sphere of surrealism.
While some find the concept of musicals frivolous, there is not much frivolity in EMILIA PEREZ. It ferociously targets the question, does changing genders help you see men’s violence in a different light? Is a leopard changed of spots any less lethal? Can years of conditioning simply be erased by gender reassignment?
Is paternity any different to maternity. Should a person who has relinquished their physical presence in the lives of their children have the right to custody. Does custody translate to ownership? Does a gender reassignment turn a father into a mother?
Already an awards circuit darling, EMILIA PEREZ has notched up the Jury Prize at Cannes, and Golden Globes for Best Musical or Comedy, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Supporting actress, Zoe Saldana, and Best Original song, El Mal.
Whether EMILIA PEREZ deserves the accolades, it certainly deserves an audience.
