Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The Golden Globes gave Emilia Pérez four awards in January 2025, and that recognition pushed a long-running argument about the film into wider view. Critics in Mexico questioned who made the film and how it portrayed their country. LGBTQ+ commentators, including GLAAD, objected to how it portrays a trans woman. Those criticisms are reported positions held by particular commentators and communities, not a single reaction shared by everyone who has seen the film.
What the Globes recognized
The official Golden Globes record lists 10 nominations and four wins for the film in 2025: Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy; Motion Picture – Non-English Language; Original Song for “El Mal”; and Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña. The film won four of its 10 nominations, so most of its nominations did not convert into awards that night.
![Emilia Pérez (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) [Explicit]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41o-Jg4VRrL._SL160_.jpg)
The story follows Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, a Mexican cartel leader played by Karla Sofía Gascón, who undergoes gender-affirming surgery. The Los Angeles Times describes it as a French-produced, Spanish-language musical thriller written and directed by Jacques Audiard. Its central themes are identity and redemption, and those themes are where most of the objections start.
Why critics in Mexico objected
Reporting from Mexico centered on two related complaints: who made a film set in Mexico, and how it handled Mexican violence. Those concerns are distinct, and they reached different audiences.
#1 Best Overall
- DVD Movies, DVD TV Shows
Authorship, authenticity, and language
The film was written and directed by the French filmmaker Jacques Audiard and shot largely in France. Critics cited stereotyped depictions of Mexico, dialogue that sounded unnatural to Mexican viewers, and the limited participation of Mexican performers and production voices. The Los Angeles Times also notes that the principal cast includes actors of Spanish, Dominican/Puerto Rican, and Mexican descent, so the complaint is about the balance of voices behind and in front of the camera rather than a claim that no Mexican performers appear at all.
The language complaint became its own flashpoint. Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez called Selena Gomez’s Spanish-language performance “indefensible,” then apologized after the response to his remarks. Gomez said she had done the best she could with the time she had and stressed the effort she put into the role. For many critics, the performance was a symptom of a larger question about whether the story sounded and felt culturally grounded, rather than the core of the objection.
Cartel violence and the disappeared
For some critics, the most serious objection was not whether details felt authentic, but how the film used violence and the disappeared, which remain ongoing and painful issues in Mexico. The Guardian quoted film critic Gaby Meza describing a perception that the film was “exploiting a current tragedy … to generate an entertainment product.”
Mexican trans activist Natalia Lane tied the awards directly to those conditions. In a statement quoted by The Guardian, she said that the film winning “the Golden Globe for best foreign film, in the midst of a human rights crisis for trans women in Mexico, transfemicides, drug trafficking, thousands of disappearances and victims, is NOT VISIBILITY.” Her phrase “best foreign film” is her wording; the category’s official name is Motion Picture – Non-English Language.
The trans representation dispute
GLAAD gave the sharpest published assessment, describing the film as “a profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman” and “a step backward for trans representation.” Those are GLAAD’s words as quoted by The Guardian and the Associated Press.
The objection centers on the use of transition inside a redemption story. Some LGBTQ+ critics argued that the film treats transition as inherently redemptive and presents transness through a reductive lens. Other commentators defended the film or pointed to Gascón’s performance as a trans actor playing a trans character. The disagreement is among LGBTQ+ commentators themselves, not only between them and the filmmakers.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the awards intensified the reaction
An awards win does not settle whether a film handled its subject responsibly. The Globes recognized the film’s performances, music, and formal ambition, and critics and voters could credit those while viewers and advocates objected to the representation of Mexico and trans identity. The reaction followed that split: one group judged the work as cinema, while another judged it as a representation of real people and real violence. Both can be true at once, which is why the awards made the disagreement more visible rather than resolving it.
What the reporting does and does not establish
The criticisms documented here come from reporting published in January 2025 by the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, and the Associated Press. They capture public discussion as it developed around the awards and the season that followed. They are not a new survey, and no representative poll of Mexican or LGBTQ+ opinion has been established in this reporting. Individual critics, quotes, and social-media reactions should not be read as population-level statistics. Later awards outcomes and any change in public opinion since early 2025 fall outside the sources covered here.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Quick Recap
“
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
