Here’s Netflix’s top priority this Oscar season. “Emilia Perez” will hit theaters on November 1 and be available to stream via Netflix on November 13. A trailer has now been unveiled for the film.
Netflix acquired North American and U.K. rights to “Emilia Perez” at Cannes where it went on to win the Jury Prize and Best Actress for its three leads (Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Selena Gomez).
The film, one of the splashiest and most divisive of this year’s Cannes, was released this month in France, to glowing reviews. I would imagine Netflix will not only be campaigning hard for Best Picture, but there’s a good chance that trans actor Karla Sofía Gascón will be nominated.
There were a few worthier titles in Cannes competition (“Anora,” “The Substance”), although ‘Emilia Perez’ is still a very good film, and a rambunctiously entertaining and originally conceived one at that. Audiard has directed a movie musical, in Spanish, about a Mexican drug lord who decides to transition into a woman, leaving his family behind and starting up a new life. The main character is inspired by one chapter of french author Boris Razon's novel "Écoute" (“Listen”).
Audiard co-wrote the movie with his go-to writing partner Thomas Bidegain. French composer Clément Ducol is doing the score and famous French singer Camille, wrote all of the songs (with the help of a Mexican translator).
In my review, I wrote: “Emilia Perez” is a strange film, sometimes a silly one, that's all over the map, but despite the heightened reality and struggles to suspend disbelief, it’s very hard not to be won over by Audiard’s gonzo vision.
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.”