UPDATE: “Emilia Perez” will be in theaters next month in France, but US audiences won’t see the film until it hits Netflix on November 13. I assume a limited theatrical release will likely precede that.
EARLIER: Netflix acquired North American and U.K. rights to Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez,” which premiered at Cannes last month. It went on to win the Jury Prize and Best Actress for its three leads (Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Selena Gomez).
The film, one of the splashiest and most divisive of this year’s Cannes, now has a trailer, via its French distributor. It’s being released in France this coming August, but still no U.S. date has been announced. I would imagine they’ll be campaigning this one hard for Oscars, especially trans actor Karla Sofía Gascón.
As far as I’ve heard, “Emilia Perez” is not going to NYFF, but is going to bow this fall in Toronto and, possibly, Telluride.
There were worthier titles in competition, although ‘Emilia Perez’ is a good film, and it is rambunctiously entertaining and originally conceived one. Audiard has directed a movie musical, in Spanish, about a Mexican druglord who decides to transition into a woman, leaving his family behind and starting up a new life. The main character is inspired by one chapter of french author Boris Razon's novel "Écoute" (“Listen”).
Audiard co-wrote the movie with his go-to writing partner Thomas Bidegain. French composer Clément Ducol is doing the score and famous French singer Camille, wrote all of the songs (with the help of a Mexican translator).
In my review, I wrote: “Emilia Perez” is a strange film, sometimes a silly one, that's all over the map, but despite the heightened reality and struggles to suspend disbelief, it’s very hard not to be won over by Audiard’s gonzo vision.
Audiard, one of the most celebrated French filmmakers of the 21st Century, has directed notable works such as “A Prophet”, “The Beat That My Heart Skipped,” “Rust and Bone,” and “Dheepan.”