CANNES.- In his outline, the commented film by Jacques Audiard in the Cannes Film Festival, Emilia Prezit won’t seem like a good idea for a film. After its premiere on Saturday in Cannes, it is probably the first film that can be honestly compared to Sicario y Mrs. Doubtfire (Dad forever), and that’s just the beginning.
Zoe Saldaa plays Rita, a Mexico City lawyer hired by capo Manitas to help him flee Mexico in order to undergo sex reassignment surgery. This turns out to be the beginning of a relationship that will continue between Rita and Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofa Gascón). Emilia returns years later, posing as Manitas’ sister, to be close to her children who live with her ex-wife (Selena Gomez).
Plus, it’s a musical.
No matter how outlandish its premise, or possibly because of it, Emilia Prez gave Cannes a jolt in the middle of the festival. Although not all critics have swooned over its melodramatic grandeur, there was applause even after the film’s press screening.
He films
“It came to me as a kind of pear,” Audiard told reporters on Sunday.
Audiard, the versatile French filmmaker of A prophet (A prophet), Of rust and bone (Of rust and bone) and the winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or in 2015 Deepan, He said the idea first occurred to him while reading a novel with a chapter about a drug dealer who wanted to change his identity. From that starting point, Audiard built a changing narrative worthy of a soap opera.
“To get into these kinds of Jacques films, you have to be like Jacques, who is a little crazy,” Gascón said, laughing.
Although the film has a couple of well-known stars with Gómez and Saldaá, Gascón is the revelation of the film. The 52-year-old Spanish actress, who is trans, plays both the ruthless Handyman, with a plate that covers his teeth, and the benevolent and bubbly Emilia. Both roles have surprisingly physical presences.
“At first it was difficult. I didn’t want to play the role of Handyman. I just wanted to play the role of Emilia. It took me several months to convince myself that I could do both,” Gascón said. “At one point, we didn’t know who was going to play the two characters, and then it became pretty obvious that it was going to be me.”
Plot significance
As bold as it may sound Emilia Prez, is remarkably sincere. The film, which reflects on issues of personal change, follows Rita and Emilia over the years and in various countries. The songs were composed by French pop star Camille; Clement Docul did the score; and Gomez has a moment in front of the microphone at a karaoke bar.
Gascón said on Sunday that he hoped Emilia would be seen not only as a trans character.
“Trans people should be treated like any other person. I am neither better nor worse than anyone. I think we should be taken for who we are,” Gascn said. “We have our body and we are allowed to change it because we want to.”
The narrative leaps and tonal juxtapositions of Emilia Prez They may be a lot for some, but for Audiard, that was a big part of the attraction.
“Something deeply impacts me about Mexico: all these problems of missing people. There are entire regions where you can’t go because they are not safe,” said the director. “I wanted to do a musical. So why not in the context of a tragedy?”
FUENTE: AP
