For Zoe Saldana, whose parents were Spanish-speaking immigrants to the U.S., her latest role in Emilia Perez carries personal significance. The chance to portray a Spanish-speaking Latina character—a rarity in her career—was a profound opportunity. “Since I started my career in cinema, I rarely had the opportunity to play a full-on Latina speaking fluently in Spanish,” Saldana shared, adding, “I was yearning for that.” The musical crime-comedy, directed by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard, takes place primarily in Mexico City, and for Saldana, it allowed her to fully embrace her cultural roots onscreen.
Emilia Perez, released last week in the UK and Ireland and coming to U.S. and Canadian theaters this Friday, is based on Audiard’s opera libretto of the same name. Set in a world blending crime and humor, the film follows Saldana’s character, a jaded lawyer, as she assists drug cartel leader Juan “Manitas” Del Monte in his staged death and transformation into Emilia Perez, a woman, played by Karla Sofia Gascon. Gascon, a transgender actress, brings depth to Emilia, a character Audiard described as needing a distinct identity from her previous life as Juan. Gascon explained that to create authenticity, they crafted Juan and Emilia as separate personas, while still blending elements of both to make the transformation believable. “Think of it as a cook adding ingredients—ingredients of Manitas and Emilia,” she said.
The cast also includes Selena Gomez, who stars as Jessi Del Monte, the cartel leader’s wife. For Gomez, whose heritage is deeply rooted in Latino culture, this role offered a refreshing way to merge her cultural background with her career. Reflecting on her journey, Gomez expressed, “This was a huge part of my life that I didn’t feel connected to for a while, just because I started working when I was 7, and most of my jobs were in English.” For Gomez, Emilia Perez was a meaningful way to reconnect with her heritage through her art.
Audiard describes the film’s production as a “collective adventure.” With a unique blend of music, dancing, and dialogue, Emilia Perez is his first foray into the musical genre, making the project particularly challenging and invigorating. “We had singing, we had dancing, we had dialogue, we had sets—all at the same time, and that was exhilarating,” he noted. Embracing the cultural essence of Mexico City, Audiard tapped into the richness of Latinx storytelling to create a film filled with humor, drama, and vibrant energy. Emilia Perez will also stream on Netflix starting November 13, opening a new chapter for Latinx narratives in global cinema.
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