“Emilia Perez” is a 2024 film directed by Jacques Audiard, a French director who wanted to create a musical film centered around a drug cartel leader in Mexico who seeks to transition from a man to a woman. This film features several big-name American actors, including Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana in supporting roles, with Karla Sofia Gascon, a Spanish actress, playing the lead. The movie has been applauded for casting a trans actress as the lead and for having a story centered around a trans experience. However, this is where the controversy begins.
The story follows Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, a cartel leader who wants to leave his criminal life behind and covertly seek gender-affirming care. He tracks down and forces lawyer Rita Mora Castro to help him find doctors willing to perform the surgery. After this, the characters part ways, only to reconnect a few years later. Juan, now Emilia Perez, asks Rita to help her reconnect with her children, whom she had sent away before the surgery. Rita helps her reunite with them and sets up a nonprofit to help locate missing children affected by cartel violence. However, things quickly grow complicated, especially when Emilia’s ex-wife wants to move away with her new lover.
Critics have praised the movie, calling it an amazing story that is an “unapologetically trans story,” according to Rotten Tomatoes. This is part of the reason the film has received several nominations and is considered a front-runner for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards. However, some trans critics have pushed back, saying that the film fundamentally misunderstands the trans experience. Mexican critics also argue that it is in poor taste for Emilia’s redemption arc to come at the expense of addressing the severe and systemic problems she caused as a cartel leader. Adding to the criticism is the fact that Audiard has never been to Mexico and is not a transgender person, meaning he does not fully understand the cultures of the marginalized communities depicted in the film.
Several moviegoers have pointed out issues with the Spanish dialogue, how the songs seem confusing to the plot, and how the actors’ singing abilities fall short. These factors have led to questions about why the film is in the same categories as other successful movies like Wicked or The Substance, both of which performed well at the box office and are not Netflix originals like Emilia Perez.
Adding to the controversy is the resurfacing of old posts by Gascon, in which she stated that Islam should be banned and made disparaging comments about George Floyd, the man who was killed by Minneapolis police. Gascon referred to Floyd as a drug addict whom “very few people ever cared for.” Gascon apologized for the posts and deactivated her account, but the movie’s reputation was already damaged. It remains unclear whether Emilia Perez will win any awards, but given the backlash, it seems unlikely.
