Emilia Pérez was never about Mexico
an autopsy / retrospective
I know that seems pretty obvious now, but recently it dawned on me just how much this is the case. Let’s discuss.
Zoe Saldaña was right after all…
You know, what Zoe Saldaña said at the Oscars way back in early March really got me thinking. This was her answer to a Mexican interviewer:
“I don’t share your opinion. For me, the heart of this movie was not Mexico. We were making a film about friendship. We were making a film about four women. These women could have been Russian, could have been Dominican, could have been Black from Detroit, could have been from Israel, could have been from Gaza. And these women are still very universal women that are struggling every day, but trying to survive systemic oppression and trying to find the most authentic voices. So I will stand by that, but I’m also always open to sit down with all of my Mexican brothers and sisters, with love and respect, [to have] a great conversation on how ‘Emilia Pérez’ could have been done better. I welcome it.”
Unsurprisingly, this statement didn’t help the film’s image, which at that point was already on the floor. Really, the cast and director were actively making things worse, but then again that’s nothing new.
However, this statement of Zoe’s really stood out to me because, ultimately, she’s saying the quiet part out loud.
No, this film was never about Mexico.
Emilia Pérez is an Uncanny Valley of a movie, where as a Mexican you can kind of tell it’s supposed to be Mexico, but the ‘image’ you’re presented with is simply wrong. Something feels very off, from the accents to the sets to the extras.
Speaking of extras, many of them are clearly not Mexican.
Yes, obviously not all Mexicans have to “look” a certain way and many of us are pretty mixed, but there are common traits and features. I guess what I’m trying to say is: if your extras are Italian, Spanish, French, what have you, it does make a difference. We will be able to tell.
When it comes to the main cast, Zoe Saldaña looks Caribbean and speaks with a Dominican accent. Selena Gómez has this almost inebriated sound to her, and some native Spanish-speakers reportedly struggle to even understand her.
At the end of the day, this film was a vain, pretentious, borderline masturbatory project Jacques Audiard created with the main purpose of satisfying his own ego. Or at least, that’s the vibe I get. It was created so Hollywood could feel good about supporting minorities without actually doing anything at an institutional level.
Because everyone knows that (shitty) representation alone is immensely helpful to trans and Latin American people! It solves all the problems they might face in society, what do you mean???
Honestly, the involvement of actual Mexicans in Emilia Pérez was little to none, and it shows. Again, I can’t say I’m surprised.
Karla Sofía Gascón, who plays the lead, speaks with a very thick Madrid accent the whole time. She didn’t even bother to hide it, except for small changes in pronunciation and vocabulary. This is harder to notice if Spanish isn’t your native language, but her cadence and way of speaking is just 100% Spaniard. Same with her singing, which is just full-on Flamenco during her bit in El Mal. That is, when she can actually hit the notes, because my God is the strain palpable!
You know what? Let’s talk about this woman…
Close enough. Welcome back, Cristopher Columbus!
Everyone’s heard about the disgusting Tweets of hers at this point, but there’s something else.
OK, how shall I put this?
You know, some Spaniards have this really… weird attitude when it comes to latinos and Latin America. Like, on a surface level, they’ll claim to love us and our countries. “We’re all Hispanic, we’re all one big, happy family,” and so on. But as soon as anyone brings up colonization, and all this suffering the Spanish caused,1 they get all defensive. Butthurt, even.
Some (!!!) of them actively refuse to admit their country did anything wrong, ever. It’s kinda like that one toxic parent who never apologizes, never admits to their wrongdoings, thinks everything should be forgotten because it happened a long time ago, and then wonders why their children resent them or won’t talk to them anymore.
Even if it happened centuries ago, the effects of colonization can still be felt to this day. All people are asking for is an apology and a resolution to do better moving forward, at very least an admittance, and these imperialist assholes can’t even do that???
Anyway, back to the actress in question, I feel like she really embodies how a certain kind of Spaniard can turn against you the moment you show, like, any problem with what they say and do.
Karla Sofía Gascón: I’m Mexican by adoption!!! :DDD <3
Also Karla Sofía Gascón, the moment Mexicans don’t like her shitty film:
You backwater hicks! You sleazeballs! Only four people dislike Emilia Pérez anyway! BTW I hate Muslims and East Asians and this Mexican director has WAY too many Oscars!
In conclusion, no.
Emilia Pérez was never about Mexico and Mexicans.
It should’ve been clear when Jacques Audiard refused to do actual research, to shoot on-location, to hire actual Mexicans, to involve them both on and off-screen.2
All because it didn’t align with his vision, which, that alone is a huge red flag. Imperialist logic, even.
It should’ve been clear when the actress who plays the main character got angry at Mexicans for being offended by this movie.
It should’ve been clear with the immensely disrespectful treatment of very real problems that affect thousands of Mexicans right now. Countless people at least know about someone with a family member who’s “been disappeared”, countless others have been directly affected. If still not clear then, it should’ve been with the little off-screen acknowledgement of communities you would think Emilia Pérez wants to uplift, or at least represent.
Now that Zoe Saldaña has gone on record and admitted it was never about Mexico, well, it really couldn’t be clearer.
Protest cinema
(???)
Johanne Sacrebleu is a Mexican-made parody of Emilia Pérez, which by now has been talked about internationally. There’s a chance you’ve heard about it already.
I know most of the praise Johanne Sacrebleu has received is ironic, but I’m being completely serious when I say it’s actively better than Emilia Pérez in many ways. It has better songs, a better grasp on basic narrative structure and buildup/payoff… it even puts more focus on France as a country, with its own problems! The main character in this short film, also a trans woman, comes from a place of genuinely wanting the best for her country.
How does a YouTube video that’s clearly trolling do things better than the original???
So yeah. Sorry, I’m not being too organized or concise, but I hope I’m making at least a bit of sense. I also hope that, in the future, films continue to be made by people who genuinely care about the topics they deal with.
Including at least some of my own ancestors!