The stars of the Cannes sensation “Emilia Perez” spoke personally about the politics of their genre-bending musical on Sunday.
Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and Édgar Ramírez answered questions at a press conference for the Jacques Audiard Project about the film’s setting in Mexico, a country torn apart by cartel violence as it heads toward elections summer. A Mexican journalist asked the actors if they could reconcile the beauty of the film with the real-life corruption plaguing the country.
“I have lived in Los Angeles for 20 years. Mexican culture is something that is close to my heart. I have a lot of family there. There is injustice and corruption, and this is true all over the world. But I’m grateful to Jacques because he used a lot of creative library and freedom (in this story),” Saldaña said.
Gomez said she identified “so much with what Zoe said.” I still have family there and obviously growing up in Texas was another part of my life. Overall it was wonderful.
Ramirez was poetic in his reflection on the plight of Latin Americans: “I go there very often, and there is an idea of exile – but exile in itself. Watching our movie last night, the world you know sort of disappears and then comes back. This is widespread in America. We do not recognize the country we live in but we cannot leave it,” he said. “What we need, we Latin Americans, is to celebrate and create as if hope were on the horizon. It guides our destiny forward.
Mexican actress Adriana Paz has been very candid and heartbreaking about the realities of life in her native country.
“I live in Mexico and I live in fear every day. You cannot leave your house alone at night. You have to teach people and prepare them, there is a very wide diversity of (problems),” she said.
At its Saturday night premiere, “Emilia Pérez” received the longest ovation in Cannes so far with nine minutes of applause. Gomez wiped away tears as the Palace applauded for a full nine minutes, accompanied by numerous boos, whistles and cheers.
In Palme d’Or winner Audiard’s film, Saldaña plays Rita, an “overqualified and undervalued” lawyer whose firm is more inclined to help criminals than seek justice. She finds an unexpected outcome when Manitas (Gascón), the feared leader of the drug cartel, recruits her to help him surreptitiously conduct a sex change operation to become the woman he always wanted to be. Gomez plays his unsuspecting wife.
“Emilia Pérez” is among the hottest films and packages on sale at Cannes, alongside Donald Trump film “The Apprentice” by Ali Abbasi and “Last Showgirl” starring Pamela Anderson. In addition to competing for Audiard’s second Palme d’Or, the film is also eligible for the Queer Palm, which rewards titles dealing with LGBTQ themes and is awarded by a jury chaired by Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont.
Gn entert
News Source : variety.com
