Emilia Pérez

On paper, the story sounds like a mashup of Dog Day Afternoon, Sicario, M Butterfly, and Mrs. Doubfire, which really should not work. The fact that it does, is a testament to the audacity of the production and Karla Sofía Gascón.

Audiard has created Emilia to startle and divert, but it’s Gascón’s performance that centers and grounds the story, and it’s the actress who finally gives the movie real stakes. She is its heart and soul both.

It seems to revel in its contradictions, mixing crassness with tenderness, pastiche with originality, silliness with sincerity. It’s emotionally manipulative. It’s visually over-the-top. It’s a mess, in other words -- a spectacular, operatic one.

"Emilia Pérez" is constantly shaking things up, and it's bursting with ideas and creativity that make other movies look like they're moving at half speed.

By making Emilia Pérez a quasi-musical, Mr. Audiard cranks up the campiness; by making it a parable about one’s own past being inescapable, he makes it profound.

A movie like Emilia Pérez -- one that, instead of pleading for trans acceptance merely treats it as a given -- feels even more like movie fireworks, fierce and glorious, a radical act of the imagination with kindness in its heart.

Jacques Audiard's innovative storytelling and direction, paired with standout performances, makes it a compelling cinematic experience.

A daring and overwhelmingly creative film. [Full review in Spanish]

The film struggles to work as a whole, and I can’t say I found it exciting.

Its musical remains in a contrived zone that often exploits one-dimensional characters who dance a few dull songs to try to synthesize its banal commentary on identity, forgiveness and redemption. [Full review in Spanish]