There inevitably was going to be an Oscar villain this year, and it’s turned out to unexpectedly be Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez” which is guaranteed to earn a slew of Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture. The film has been attacked by, predictably, the right and, unpredictably, the left, in equal measure.
Many on the left seem to have taken issue with the uninformed and exaggerated depiction of “trans realities” in “Emilia Pérez” (via Vulture), but don’t tell that to James Cameron who admits to having seen the Audiard’s musical now three times:
It’s just not like any other film that’s ever been made. It’s bold, daring, a vision. It’s beautifully executed. It’s a beautiful piece of filmmaking.
Doesn’t Cameron have an ‘Avatar’ movie to finish?
“Emilia Perez,” which is available to stream on Netflix, won the Jury Prize and Best Actress for its three leads (Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Selena Gomez) at Cannes, and has become one of the more polarizing films of the year.
In “Emilia Perez,” Gascon plays the titular Mexican druglord who decides to transition into a woman, leaving her family behind and starting up a new life. The character was inspired by one chapter of french author Boris Razon's novel "Écoute" (“Listen”).
Audiard, one of the most celebrated French filmmakers of the 21st Century, has directed notable works such as “A Prophet”, “The Beat That My Heart Skipped,” “Rust and Bone,” and “Dheepan.” He’s hinted that a prequel to ‘Emilia’ is currently in the works.