Director of ‘Emilia Perez’ says criticism of how Mexico is portrayed in the film is in 'bad faith'

Director Jacques Audiard argued that critiques of his film, "Emilia Perez," are being made successful "bad faith."

"Emilia Perez," a Netflix-distributed philharmonic movie astir a Mexican cartel kingpin faking his ain decease to unrecorded a caller beingness arsenic a transgender woman, has been embroiled successful aggregate controversies. Numerous headlines person been made astir its star, transgender thespian Karla Sofía Gascón, implicit old societal media posts featuring arguable rhetoric astir contention and religion.

Additionally, the film’s director, Audiard, has reportedly been facing scrutiny for his portrayal of Mexico, which helium defended by appealing to creator license.

Deadline interviewer Mike Fleming Jr. remarked that Audiard has been quoted arsenic "saying that Spanish is simply a connection of humble countries, of processing countries, of the mediocre and immigrants" and asked the manager to clarify what helium meant.

French director, writer of the "Emilia Perez" movie, Jacques Audiard gestures arsenic helium speaks during an interrogation with AFP successful Bogotá connected January 18, 2025.  (Photo by RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images)

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Audiard responded that helium has made galore films successful languages that were not his autochthonal French and that "I’m drawn to things that don’t beryllium to the domain of my autochthonal language, and I hap to enormously emotion the Spanish language." 

He added erstwhile choosing a connection movie that volition person broad, planetary appeal, "There’s English and there’s Spanish, and Spanish is specified a affluent connection that crosses borders. What’s been said astir my connection is really precisely the other of what I think. I worked 5 years connected this movie and for it to present beryllium denigrated successful this way, it’s truly simply excessively much."

The interviewer noted that this is simply "part of the disapproval coming from Mexico," and that "some person objected to the depiction of the cartels and their victims."

"What shocked maine is that either radical haven’t seen the movie properly, oregon they haven’t seen it astatine each and are acting successful atrocious faith," Audiard responded. "The practice of the cartels successful the movie is thematic. It’s not thing that I’m peculiarly focused connected successful the film. There’s 1 country that deals with it. The existent happening that I’m funny in, that I was funny successful doing, is that I wanted to marque an opera. That demands a beardown stylization. Well, that tends to beryllium however opera is to person schematic elements. The science tin beryllium limited. Opera has intelligence limitations."

He went connected to reason that if helium wanted to marque a realistic work, helium would person made a documentary instead.

Oscar nominee Karla Sofía Gascón ditched the X level aft arguable posts resurfaced. ((Photo by Medios y Media/Getty Images))

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"It seems I’m being attacked successful the tribunal of realism. Well, I’ve ne'er claimed that I wanted to marque a realistic work. If I wanted to marque a enactment that was peculiarly documented, past I would bash a documentary, but past determination would beryllium nary singing and dancing," the movie manager argued. "For example, I work a reappraisal wherever it said that nighttime markets successful Mexico City don’t person photocopiers. Well, successful nighttime markets successful Mexico City, 1 besides doesn’t sing and dance. You person to judge that is portion of the magic here. This is an opera, not a disapproval of thing astir Mexico."

In the aforesaid interview, Audiard addressed the contention astir Gascón’s aged societal media posts, juxtaposing a originative narration initially based connected spot with however "suddenly you work thing that that idiosyncratic has said, things that are perfectly hateful and worthy of being hated, of people that narration is affected."

Gascón’s posts had ranged from slamming religions arsenic the "f---ing beliefs of morons that interruption quality rights," to referring to George Floyd soon aft his decease arsenic a "drug addict swindler." In that second post, Gascón appeared to knock some sides of the statement implicit Floyd’s death, such arsenic those who "still see Black radical to beryllium monkeys" and those who "consider policemen to beryllium assassins."

The archetypal openly transgender Oscar nominee for champion actress, Karla Sofía Gascón, has an intense, tearful interrogation with CNN en Español. (CNN en Español)

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The Emilia Perez prima had precocious appeared successful a tearful interview with CNN en Español, telling anchor Juan Carlos Arciniegas, "I cannot renounce a information either due to the fact that I person not committed immoderate transgression nor person I harmed anyone. I americium not a racist, nor americium I thing that each these radical person taken it upon themselves to effort to marque others judge that I am."

Audiard argued that the performer should "take accountability."

"I’m not getting successful interaction with her due to the fact that close present she needs abstraction to bespeak and instrumentality accountability for her actions," helium said, arguing, Gascón is "really playing the victim. She’s talking astir herself arsenic a victim, which is surprising. It’s arsenic if she thought that words don’t hurt."