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WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Emilia Perez.
There has been speculation about whether Netflix’s crime comedy musical and Oscar-contender Emilia Pérez is based on a true story. Directed by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (Rust and Bone, The Sisters Brothers), the genre-blending film delivers innovative music numbers and choreography infused with a gut-wrenching story about unfulfilled desire and regret. The film is France’s official entry for Best International Feature at the upcoming 97th Academy Awards, which will be held on March 2, 2025 despite receiving backlash about the misrepresentation of the realities of trans people and relying on trans narrative tropes.
The combined talents of Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Selena Gomez led the cast of Emilia Pérez. Emilia Pérez won the Jury Prize and the Best Actress Ensemble award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere in May. Emilia Pérez’s soundtrack is one of the essential highlights of the film as well as the heart and soul of the ultimately tragic narrative. Although Emilia Pérez takes place in several locations, the film was shot mostly in studios in Paris, France. By the end of Emilia Pérez, the three main characters touch on many harsh truths about society and identity that call for revolutionary change.
Emilia Pérez
is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
Is Emilia Pérez A True Story, And Was There A Real Emilia?
The film brings up real-world issues about identity and society
The story of Emilia Pérez follows Saldaña’s Rita, a defense lawyer in Mexico City looking to make a difference, who encounters an unusual but lucrative opportunity from cartel kingpin Manitas Del Monte as he aims to fulfill his lifetime dream of transitioning to a woman. Emilia also undergoes a villain-to-hero transformation from the evil and heartless Manitas into a virtuous and saintlike community figure loved by many. There’s a great irony in the community mourning and celebrating the life of Emilia at the end of the film when they only really know half of the picture, oblivious to how much violence Manitas had contributed to the world.
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While the story of Emilia Pérez is tragic and inspirational, it is not based on a true story. This means that there was never a real person that the character of Emilia Pérez or Manitas Del Monte was based on. Given the gritty subject matter and neo-realist style of the film’s cinematography, which adds an interesting contrast to the over-the-top musical numbers and choreography seen throughout the film, it’s easy to believe that the film is at least in some ways based on reality. In truth, Emilia Pérez is a complete work of fiction even though some of its messages apply directly to and are intended for the world we live in.
What Inspired Emilia Pérez’s Story
A character in a 2018 novel
Emilia Pérez is a loose adaptation of the 2018 novel Écoute, which translates to “Listen”, by Boris Razon. Writer/director Jacques Audiard told W magazine, “The idea came to me through a book called Écoute [Listen]. Halfway through, there is a character who is a drug kingpin who wants to transition to become a woman. The author, who is a friend of mine, did not develop this character. I asked for the right to expand the character myself.” Outside the expansion of the character from the novel, Emilia Pérez does not adapt many other elements from the book.
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Audiard continued, “In Emilia Pérez, I was fascinated by the paradox of a person being very successful in a hyper-virile world and, at the same time, she is a woman. What is her life like when she is not able to express her true nature? She was, in fact, in a kind of prison. But even so, her new life comes at a cost.” This juxtaposition of her character was something that Audiard and his co-writers were able to explore through their artistic creativity rather than pulling from the life of an actual person. Karla Sofía Gascón, however, is a trans actress and is poised to become the first to ever receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
How Karla Sofia Gascón’s Real Life Influenced Emilia Pérez’s Story
Gascón’s opinion and life experience greatly informed the screenplay and her character
Gascón was initially hesitant about taking on the role of Emilia Pérez because she was unsure of how her character would be portrayed and she was not a fan of musicals. Audiard used some of the real-life experiences and opinions of Gascón when crafting the titular character. According to Vogue, “The director rewrote certain scenes as a result of Karla’s input—for example, one scene featuring an explosion of physical violence by Emilia was pared back to seething fury.” Audiard also initially intended for two different actors to play Manitas and Emilia Pérez but Gascón changed his thinking. “It’s as if Beauty and the Beast were both locked in the same body,” Gascón noted.
Sources: W Magazine, Vogue
Emilia Perez is a drama film that follows the life of Emilia Perez, a determined and ambitious individual striving to make a name for herself in a competitive environment. The story explores her journey as she navigates the challenges and obstacles that come her way, all while uncovering the complexities of her own identity.
- Director
- Jacques Audiard
- Release Date
- November 13, 2024
- Studio(s)
- Why Not Productions , Saint Laurent , Page 114 , Pathé , France 2 Cinéma , LPI Media , Pimienta Films , The Veterans
- Writers
- Jacques Audiard , Thomas Bidegain , Léa Mysius
- Cast
- Karla Sofía Gascón , Zoe Saldana , Selena Gomez , Adriana Paz , Edgar Ramirez , Mark Ivanir , Eduardo Aladro , Emiliano Edmundo Hasan Jalil , James Gerard , Eric Geynes , Agathe Bokja , Chun-Ting Lin , Stéphane Ly-Cuong , Line Phé , Pascal Toussirot , Karla Lazo
- Character(s)
- Emilia / Manitas , Rita , Jessi , Epifania , Gustavo Brun , Wasserman , Berlinger , Gabriel Mendoza , London City Boy , Thai nurse , Medical Staff , Thai Surgeon
- Runtime
- 130 Minutes
- Budget
- 26885000.0
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