When the movie Emilia Perez came into the light around November, I remember being excited to watch it. I loved when foreign films got attention since I felt that movie awards were always American centric; my favorite day in movie history was when Parasite won Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
As much as I’m a movie-watcher, I would say that I’m more of an award-follower. I’ve been obsessed with movie award shows since elementary school—I think it’s a combination of the visual arts and the competition that I can’t get enough of. I have spreadsheets tracking certain award shows and the movies that I need to watch next. While I recognize it’s slightly vain to only watch movies that others consider ‘excellent,’ award-nominated movies have opened my eyes to various genres and stories that I never would have watched otherwise.
One December morning, I decided that I needed to watch Emilia Perez for myself. I had seen mixed reviews, but was trying not to get too deep into the internet before watching so I could craft my own opinion. The movie, on paper, is about a lawyer who goes to work for a Mexican cartel leader, helping the leader transition into being a woman and living a more ‘authentic’ life. Oh yeah, it’s also a musical.
As I sat there watching, I thought to myself for the next two hours, what the hell am I watching?
This is never a good thing to be thinking as you’re watching a movie. Emilia Perez felt like a complete waste of my time, yet I sat through it because it had been nominated for the most Academy Awards this season with 13 nominations—maybe I was just missing something. But as the credits rolled around, I wish I had simply not started it at all.
That’s when I did a deep dive into the movie. According to Rotten Tomatoes, movie critics had rated the movie 72% and Certified Fresh. The general audience, however, rated it a measly 17%. Many critics had similar sentiments: it’s something that no one has done before—it’s innovative and visually beautiful. However, when I watched it, I thought about how culturally insensitive it felt and how the songs are very simply unenjoyable to listen to.
My main issue with the movie is with its writer and director, Jaques Audiard. The movie is based in Mexico and attempts to capture many issues and themes the country is dealing with, but none of the actual filming was done in Mexico and none of the main actors were Mexican—in fact, Audiard is a white, French director who doesn’t speak Spanish. While you can call the movie innovative and creative, I don’t believe that he was the right man for the job; it comes short on many of the themes that could have been more meaningful for the audience simply because he had no experience with any of those themes.
There has also been criticism about the movie’s choice on portraying transitioning and gender expression, using tropes and inauthentic representations on what it means to be transgender. While the main role is played by Karla Sofía Gascón, a transgender woman, she now faces controversy after numerous past tweets were brought up that made offensive comments about Islam, George Floyd, and more.
The issue between how critics and a general audience views movies is critical: while you can appreciate the creation of arts and their production value, I also believe that the underlying meaning and story is more important to consider. With the Academy Awards, Emilia Perez is nominated for original song, best supporting actress, and makeup and hairstyling—these nominations make sense and they seemed as earned as they could be. But their nominations for writing, directing, and cinematography perplex me. This year, Emilia Perez is nominated for the same amount of awards that Oppenheimer was nominated for last year; it’s truly unbelievable how different the quality of these movies are.
I understand that a lot of movie awards shows are just about campaigning for publicity and positive PR, surprises and snubs happen for a reason and that’s part of what makes things interesting. But when something I and over 5,000 reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes consider so terrible, it makes me wonder the validity of what truly makes a “good” movie. Maybe it’s time I realize that the number of nominations doesn’t make a movie more special than others, it’s also emotional connections and other attributes that matter, too.
As I look towards the rest of this year’s movie awards, I’ll be taking all of Emilia Perez’s awards with a grain of salt, recognizing the difference between art and enjoyment. Hopefully another movie is made soon depicting these themes in a more effective way, so it gives both the critics and general audience something to truly cheer for.