Emilia Pérez is the film on everyone’s lips right now, for many reasons. Given the countless awards nominations it’s received—spanning the 2025 Golden Globes, Oscars and Critics Choice, to name a few—as well as the controversy around one star, we will likely continue to talk about it for months to come.
The genre-bending film boasts a seriously stacked cast including Zoe Saldaña (who won a Golden Globe for her performance), Selena Gomez, Edgar Ramirez and Karla Sofía Gascón.
So what do you need to know about the film and where can you watch it for yourself? Scroll on for all the details.
What Is The Movie Emilia Pérez About?
In short, Emilia Pérez tells the story of a high-powered lawyer, Rita (Zoe Saldana), who is recruited by the Mexican cartel to help their leader (Karla Sofía Gascón) fake their death before undergoing gender-affirming procedures.
“Rita wishes that she would just have this one opportunity, just any opportunity that will make her break out and break this glass ceiling that she finds herself never being able to shatter,” Saldaña tells Tudum. “And when the opportunity presents itself, she doesn’t think twice. She just takes it.
The decision also impacts Emilia’s wife, Jessi, played by Selena Gomez.
A genre-blurring film, Emilia Pérez is described as “an action movie that’s not an action movie, a drama that’s not a drama, a comedy that’s not a comedy” by Gascon. But what does that mean exactly?
Well, the film is at its core a musical, which director Jacques Audiard says is as he was creating it became “closer to an opera libretto than to a film script.”
Where Can You Watch Emilia Pérez In Australia?
Emilia Pérez is a Netflix original film meaning we can guarantee it will launch on the platform here in Australia. Exactly when however, remains to be confirmed.
Currently the film is streaming on the site in the US, Canada and the UK, so we can only cross our fingers that Australia won’t be far behind.
For those eager to see it first, Emilia Pérez will be getting an earlier cinema release and will be screening nationally from January 16th.
Emilia Pérez & Karla Sofía Gascón Controversy, Explained
In late January, tweets surfaced online from Emilia Perez star, Karla Sofía Gascón that sparked outrage. On X, formerly Twitter, the star made comments about the murder of George Floyd as well as racist and islamophobic sentiments.
Following the backlash, Gascón released a statement apologising for her “past” and to “those I have caused pain”.
“I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt. As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain,” her statement said.
“All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.”
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