Emilia Perez received 13 Oscar nods, more than any non-English language film in history. Kudos to the international cast and crew! It has also earned multiple accusations of lack of realism and transphobia are unfounded. I think that these criticisms are unfair.
Emilia Perez is an opera of the absurd, an unabashed melodrama, and a musical from hell. It should be celebrated – and not denounced – for these qualities. French director Jacques Audiard did not set out to create a realistic depiction of Mexico and the trans experience. Quite the opposite.
The quality of cinema isn’t always defined by its ability to emulate or to capture reality. At times, its excellence lies precisely in subverting it. Emilia Perez is cinema at its most free and universal. It could be set in Mexico, Russia or Indonesia, and made by a Chinese or Egyptian filmmaker. It can be appreciated anywhere on the globe.
Paradoxically, many film critics and lovers denouncing Emilia Perez overlook language as a gauge of realism. Oscar contenders Nosferatu (Robert Eggers, 2024) and Maria (Pablo Larrain, 2024) scarcely feature a word in German and Greek (respectively, the mother tongue of its protagonists). Barely anyone – except myself – criticised these two films for that. Emilia Perez does not have such problem. The entire film is in Spanish, despite some actors not being Mexican.
Strangely, nobody (not even Americans) accused Lars von Trier of cultural appropriation when he made Dancer in the Dark (2000), Dogville (2003) and Manderlay (2005). All three movies are entirely set in the United States, a country the Danish director never even visited (largely because of his fear of flying). Most of the actors (Björk, Catherine Deneuve, Paul Bettany, Stellan Skarsgård, etc) were non-Americans. Is the duty of realism confined to certain films and filmmakers only? Or have our times become restrictive and regimented to the point of denying cinema its most basic artistic freedoms?
I have never been to Mexico and cannot comment on the verisimilitude of the settings. My experience with the second most populated country of Latin America is mostly through the mawkish and absurd soap operas. Emilia Perez seems to pay tribute to those.
Lastly, I really hope Karla Sofía Gascón wins the Best Actress prize, even if that means denying the brilliant Fernanda Torres (of Walter Salles’s I’m Still Here) the award. She would be the first trans person to do so, and that would be a slap on the face of Trump and his fascist supporters. Karla is literally breathtaking both as the returning “aunt” and the de-transitioned version of herself.
Emilia Perez is colourful, loud and explosive fun. Almodovar on steroids. Please go watch it with an open heart!
Click here in order to watch my review of Emilia Perez, written in Cannes last May (where the film was first premiered). The film is available now on Netflix.