Following 'A Prophet' (2009), ‘Dheepan’ (2015) and 'Paris, 13th District' (2021), French director Jacques Audiard orchestrates a barnstorming comeback. His Mexico-set gangster trans musical featuring gender transitioning, cartels, gorgeous choreographies and songs about vaginoplasty is unmissable. You are not ready for this one.
.. French director Jacques Audiard returned to this year with a Spanish-language melodrama about Mexican cartel boss Manitas (Karla Sofía Gascón), who wants to become a woman.
In order to do so undetected from the criminal underworld, he kidnaps a lawyer, Rita (Zoé Saldaña), who is tired of defending violent husbands in a corrupt system that leaves “a taste of shit” in her mouth. She is tasked with finding the right doctor to perform the multitude of surgical procedures, and soon understands that this life-changing transformation isn’t about disappearing to evade authorities but to affirm a new identity Manitas has always dreamt of. Even if it means leaving his wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and two sons behind.
“You want to change your life or your gender?” Rita asks Manitas. “What’s the difference?” Oh, and this already eccentric tale of emancipation, identity, corruption and organised crime is a musical. Yep, it’s on Broadway, a full-blown operatic telenovela featuring a dozen choreographed song-and-dance numbers written by Clément Ducol and French musician Camille.
On paper, sounds like too much to take. Hats off to Audia.
