Netflix: “Emilia Perez”

Over the past few decades, drug cartels have been making headlines. Their violence has driven tens of thousands from Latin America. The people they displace have significantly impacted US politics. Narcos are a big thing culturally, too, having been the subject of everything from TV series (“Ozark” and “Breaking Bad”) to novels (“American Dirt.”)

But is the world ready for a movie musical about a narco who wants gender-affirming surgery? Yes, and I’m glad Jacques Audiard has made “Emilia Perez,” one of the most original and intriguing films of 2024.

Rita Mora Castro (Zoe Saldana), a Mexico City lawyer, has become famous for defending drug lords and other disreputable individuals. Her record for winning cases has come to the attention of a billionaire narco named Manitas, who decides to have her kidnapped. When Rita and Manitas finally meet in person, he removes his mask and tells Rita: “I want to be a woman.”

Manitas adds that he is willing to pay her mucho dinero to make this happen. First condition: no one must reveal anything about this now or after the operation is over. Second, once it is complete, Manitas has to give up any future contact with his wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and their two children.

Accepting the assignment (fearfully), Rita travels the world to find a surgical team that can complete the task and keep their mouths shut. After visiting (and passing on) a clinic in Bangkok, she settles on Dr. Wasserman in Tel Aviv (Mark Ivanar). He agrees to meet with Manitas and eventually does perform the surgery.

Fast forward four years as we meet Manitas, who has become “Emilia Perez”(Karla Sofia Gascon). When she and Rita reconnect in London, Emilia mentions she misses her children. Which brings her to the new assignment she has for Rita: help bring back my kids from Switzerland (where they’ve been living anonymously with their mother) to live with their “Aunt Emilia.”

Cut to Mexico City, where Emilia has reunited, albeit awkwardly, with her family, and has begun to feel remorse for the crimes she committed as a drug lord.

If at this point you suspect this film has a social conscience, you’d be correct. It delves deeply into what it means to be to marginalized like the transgendered community often is. Yes, trans people may have acquired a different gender but their inner selves and feelings may remain unchanged, says the film.

So how does all this serious stuff translate into a musical? Very well, gracias (btw the film is in Spanish with English subtitles). “Emilia Perez,” which is based on Audiard’s libretto with the same name, is part Busby Berkeley and part “La La Land.” At one point in the film, for example, troupes of dancers and singers appear out of nowhere on a street in Mexico City. At another moment, soldiers are loading and cocking their rifles to music. The movie is also a bit like a Bollywood film in that it manages to weave together musical numbers, a love story and action adventure.

Props to Gascon for a bravura performance that deserves at the very least an Oscar nom for best actress, as well as Saldana and Gomez for taking roles outside their dramatic wheelhouses. I also liked Edgar Ramirez as Gustavo, who is Manitas’ (and now Emilia’s) rival for his ex-wife’s attention. On the other hand, Emilia’s girlfriend, Epifanía (Adriana Paz), may be the real acting discovery of the movie.

“Emilia Perez” won the Grand Jury prize at Cannes last year. Even so, critics remain fiercely divided. For the record, I am firmly on the “thumbs up” side. Final thought: if any narcos happen to see it, I hope they have a sense of humor.

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