28/29
Jacques Audiard’s first Spanish-language film
Line of Events
In Mexico, a lawyer receives an unexpected offer to help a fearsome cartel boss withdraw from his company and disappear forever, without becoming the woman he always dreamed of. At the 2024 New York Film Festival, including Anora, the terrifying, strangely erotic Misericordia.. The French title card misspells the Indian city as “Dehli”. Latin Slant: Remake of La Bamba, Tarantino Has a Big Mouth, Jenna & Selena in Shock!
They deserve it
(2024) El Trio written by Camille, Clement Ducol and Jacques Audiard with Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana. A fairly likeable film with two leads and two supporting characters who need great actors. The first two are by Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofia Gascón, the second two by Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz. The quartet shared the Best Actress award at Cannes 2024.
Saldaña in particular is a revelation
Of writer-director Jacques Audiard’s previous films, I’ve seen four (“The Beat That Skipped My Heart,” “A Prophet,” “Rust and Bone,” and “The Sisters’ Brothers”) in their various guises. None of them prepared me for this one, so hats off to him for not destroying the genre. Emilia Pérez has many stories and many songs. When the vocals combine with Damian Jalett’s intense choreography, the effect is captivating.
Otherwise, the songs drag the film down
They’re light on musical theater, they don’t dig deep and therefore don’t live up to the dramatic demands placed on them. They do best in rap-oriented pieces, where rhythm is the most important element. Emilia Perez’s moral seems to be that we can never forget the past, never change who we are or what we want. It’s a strangely dark scene for a musical.