Golden Globe-winning Netflix film Emilia Pérez criticised for representation of Mexico and trans community

Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascón in Emilia Pérez (2024). Photo / Netflix

• Emilia Pérez, a Netflix musical, won four Golden Globes, including best comedy/musical.
• Some critics have accused the film of cultural appropriation and poor representation.
• The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation criticised its portrayal of trans issues as “retrograde”.

A big winner at this year’s Golden Globe Awards is attracting criticism online for its alleged lack of care when it comes to the portrayal of Latino culture and trans issues, with some calling for a boycott of the film this awards season.

Emilia Pérez, a Netflix-produced musical about a Mexican lawyer (Zoe Saldaña) who is offered a job to help a cartel boss (Karla Sofía Gascón) transition into living as a woman, won four Golden Globes including best comedy/musical, non-English language film, original song and supporting actress.

Gascón won the best actress prize at Cannes Film Festival in May, the first transgender woman to do so.

She was also the first trans nominee in a film acting category at the Golden Globes, and if she receives an acting Oscar nomination on January 17 it will be another historic first.

Adriana Paz, Edgar Ramírez, Selena Gomez, Jacques Audiard, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Zoe Saldana, winners of the Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy award for Emilia Pérez, pose in the press room during the 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards. Photo / Getty Images

While some US critics like Leonard Maltin called the film a “game-changer” and “cutting-edge” for its representation and style, others took to social media to voice their frustrations over the film’s supposed lack of respect for its themes and culture.

Mexican producer Héctor Guillén took to X/Twitter with a message for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (who run the Oscars) saying that Mexico “hates” the film which he called a “racist, Eurocentric mockery”.

Vox’s Kyndall Cunnigham slated the film for its “drug war stereotypes”, saying its depiction of Mexican culture was “equally regressive and lazy” because it depicted Mexico as a “violent and miserable” place and didn’t challenge any of the stereotypical narratives about the country.

Much of Guillén’s criticism was around the fact the film was a predominantly French-helmed production shot in France, with “no Mexicans” in the main cast besides “the talented Adriana Paz”.

Another X user said French director Jacques Audiard “didn’t bother to research” Mexican culture and called the film a “racist, xenophobic mess”.

Others noted that the film wasn’t even available in Mexico yet (with the official Mexican theatre release slated for January 23) and criticised Audiard for accepting the award for a Mexican film while speaking French.

“It’s always cultural appropriation until the Latinos speak,” one X/Twitter user said.

“You have a French production company, a French director and writers & everyone’s clapping while they accept awards in FRENCH because they don’t know Spanish ... mind you Mexico is the last country Emilia Pérez came out in.”

Another strong critic of the film has been the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) which opposed the film’s portrayal of trans representation, calling it “profoundly retrograde”.

“Emilia Pérez recycles the trans stereotypes, tropes, and clichés of the not-so-distant past,” GLAAD said.

The organisation then listed reviews from those in the LGBTQIA+ community who had shared their thoughts on the film.

“If I were to harp on ‘representation’, it’s abhorrent to me within the realism of the film that Emilia does what she does. She swaps genders, refuses accountability for a lifetime of bad behaviour, and gaslights her wife and kids into spending time with her under fraudulent pretences,” Fran Tirado of them.us said. “It is an idea of transness so completely from the cis imagination.”

Gascón came to the defence of the film’s portrayal of trans people in a recent interview with Vanity Fair, telling critics, "If you don’t like it, go and make your own movie. Go create the representation you want to see," she said. “The trans experience is not the same for everybody - my trans experience is different from somebody else’s.”

OFM writer and transgender woman Julie River also came to the film’s defence, calling the film “a compelling story about the trans community that never felt like it was insulting my identity”.

After its success at the Golden Globes, Emilia Pérez is a predicted frontrunner for the 2025 Oscar, with nominations for the awards revealed on January 17.

The film hits selected NZ cinemas on January 16.

Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.