CANNES, France (AP) 鈥 On paper, Jacques Audiard's buzzed-about Cannes Film Festival entry 鈥淓milia Perez鈥 would not seem anything like a good idea for a movie.
The film, which , is probably the first movie that can sincerely be compared to both 鈥淪icario鈥 and 鈥淢rs. Doubtfire" 鈥 and that's just a start.
Zoe Salda帽a stars as Rita, a Mexico City lawyer hired by the cartel kingpin Manitas to help him flee Mexico for gender confirmation surgery. This turns out to be the beginning of a relationship that will continue between Rita and Emilia Perez (Karla Sof铆a Gasc贸n). Emilia returns years later, posing as Manitas' sister, to stay close to her children who are living with her ex-wife (Selena Gomez).
Also, it's a musical.
As gonzo as its premise may be, or possibly because of it, 鈥淓milia Perez鈥 gave Cannes a mid-festival jolt. Though not every critic has swooned for its melodramatic grandeur, there was applause even after the film's press screening.
鈥淚t occurred to me as a kind of opera,鈥 Audiard told reporters Sunday.
Audiard, the protean French filmmaker of 鈥淎 Prophet,鈥 鈥淩ust and Bone鈥 and the 2015 Cannes Palme d'Or winner 鈥淒heepan,鈥 said the idea first occurred to him while reading a novel with a chapter about a narco trafficker who wanted to change his identity. From that starting point, Audiard built a shifting narrative worthy of a telenovela.
鈥淭o get into this kind of film by Jacques, you have to be like Jacques, who鈥檚 a bit mad,鈥 said Gasc贸n, laughing.
While the film boasts a pair of well-known stars in Gomez and Salda帽a, Gasc贸n is the revelation of the movie. The 52-year-old Gasc贸n, who is trans, plays both the ruthless Manitas, with a grill covering his teeth, and the benevolent, bubbly Emilia. The two roles have strikingly physical presences.
鈥淚t was difficult at first. I didn't want to play the part of Manitas. I only wanted to play the part of Emilia. It took several months for me to convince myself that I could do both,鈥 said Gasc贸n. 鈥淎t one point, we didn't know who would be playing the two characters and then it became quite obvious that it would be me.鈥
Audacious as 鈥淓milia Perez鈥 may sound, it comes off remarkably sincerely. The film, pondering questions of personal change, follows Rita and Emilia across years and multiple countries. The songs are penned by French pop musician Camille; Cl茅ment Docul does the score; and Gomez gets a moment at the microphone at a karaoke bar.
Gasc贸n on Sunday said she hoped Emilia would be seen as not just a trans character.
鈥淭rans people should be treated like just anybody else. I'm not better or worse than anyone else. I think we should be taken for what we are,鈥 said Gasc贸n. 鈥淲e have our body and we're allowed to change it because we want to.鈥
The narrative leaps and tonal juxtapositions of 鈥淓milia Perez鈥 may be a lot for some, but for Audiard, that was much of the attraction.
鈥淪omething shocks me deeply in Mexico 鈥 all these problems of missing people. There are whole regions you can鈥檛 go because they aren鈥檛 safe," said the director. "I wanted to make a musical. So why not against the background of a tragedy?鈥
