Actors playing French stereotypes in Johanne Sacreblu
(Camila D. Aurora / YouTube)

‘Racist Eurocentric mockery’: Mexican artists mock ‘Emilia Pérez’ with French parody

Emilia Pérez is shaping up to be the most controversial Oscar nominee in recent memory. And it’s not just because of the film’s portrayal of a transgender woman, although that’s been slammed too. It’s because the movie disrespects Mexico, the country it is set in.

Recommended Videos

The plot revolves around a cartel leader (Spanish actress Karla Sofía Gascón) who undergoes gender transition. It deals with serious subject matter: drugs, crime, murder… but it’s a musical. And a rather silly one at that. Plus, there is only one Mexican actor in the entire main cast (Adriana Paz, playing Epifanía), and no representation behind the camera: The movie has a French director (Jacques Audiard) and French producers.

So you should be able to see why the movie hasn’t been received well at all in Mexico, with citizens of the country believing it’s insensitive and insulting.

Now, some Mexican performers have taken matters into their own hands by releasing a Spanish-language spoof musical titled Johanne Sacreblu. This time, in a role-reversal, it’s Mexican people reducing France to stereotypes. Characters wear striped shirts, have berets on their heads, drink wine and smoke. (That’s not even getting into their silly fake mustaches.) But Emilia Pérez’s stance on trans rights is not mocked, because Mexican trans creator Camila Aurora is one of the people involved in the project. She wrote the script alongside screenwriter Héctor Guillén.

The movie is not available in English, but it tells a Romeo and Juliet-style love story between the transgender kids of rival baker families, one which produces croissants and one which produces baguettes. The names of these families? Sacrebleu and Ratatouille. That should raise at least a snort.

The film has over one million views on YouTube at the moment and lots of positivity (as well as some jokes) in the comments. “I’m an American so I don’t know anything about anywhere outside of my country and therefore can confidently say that this film confirmed everything I suspected about France,” read one tongue-in-cheek comment. “Thank you for shedding light on this poor, misunderstood, and violent culture so that I can feel better about my own. Bravo!”

But behind the jokes, Mexicans are serious in their condemnation of Emilia Pérez. Poor representation can have a knock-on effect to a community or country, and that’s what people fear will happen now. Héctor Guillén has been very outspoken about the damage he believes the film can do. In a post made at the beginning of the year, he made a mock movie poster describing Emilia Pérez as “racist Eurocentric mockery.” Beneath the damning quote, he added an even more damning one: “Almost 500K dead and France decides to do a musical.”

The 500K Guillén refers to are the dead and disappeared of Mexico’s drug wars. “We are still immersed in the violence in some areas,” Guillén told the BBC last week. “You are taking one of the most difficult topics in the country, but it’s not only any film, it’s an opera. It’s a musical. So for us and many activists, it’s like you are playing with one of the biggest wars in the country since the Revolution.” And then he pointed out, “And there were zero words in the four Golden Globe acceptance speeches to the victims.”

If Emilia Pérez wins at the Academy Awards—and many people are hoping it doesn’t—expect there to be even more hurt.


The Mary Sue is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Sarah Barrett
Sarah Barrett
Sarah Barrett (she/her) is a freelance writer with The Mary Sue who has been working in journalism since 2014. She loves to write about movies, even the bad ones. (Especially the bad ones.) The Raimi Spider-Man trilogy and the Star Wars prequels changed her life in many interesting ways. She lives in one of the very, very few good parts of England.