Emilia Perez: A Second Look- 13 Oscar Nominations Was Enough To Trigger English Audio Description!

So, I originally made a pretty big fuss about the lack of audio description on the major Oscar contender from netflix. I did sit through the film, with only Spanish available at release, and reviewed the film as it was presented. I addressed the problems with the lack of inclusivity on a film touting nothing but, and how Netflix had previously ignored fellow Spanish-language Oscar nominees like El Conde, Brdo, and Roma, none of which got audio description in their respective years. But, as Timothee Chalamet might sing in A Complete Unknown, “the times they are a changing.”

Here I am, over two months later, and I’m ecstatic to report that Netflix commissioned audio description for this film. If I had to guess, there was a trigger moment for them. It wasn’t necessarily my review, or any other backlash, but that helped. Likely somewhere around the Globes, either getting the nominations, or winning Best Musical/Comedy triggered the audio description, which means International Digital Center had virtually no time to tackle and produce audio description.

And, let’s be clear, this is audio description. This is not a dub. There is no version, as of this writing, available in just English without accompanying accessibility, and I freaking love that. I’ve long said audio description should be the priority, and here it is. Make the AD first, and dubs second. if you need a dub because you can’t read the subtitles, you would likely benefit from the audio description anyway.

Addressing the Emilia Perez controversy on its own is an entirely different monster. while I’m open about being gay, being gay is not being trans, and while I’m part of that rainbow coalition, and part of a critics guild specifically for people like me, for the last two months, I’ve heard just about every argument there can be. I have a trans friend who is Latina, and loved this movie. I gave her the T-shirt sent to me by Netflix because I will never in my lifetime be a medium. Her only critique was that the movie had some translation issues, as she’s Spanish first, English second. I didn’t press her on specifics. So, I cannot solve this, nor should I. It is up to members of the trans community to decide if they feel positively represented here.

What I would say, is that regardless, we should be excited that a trans actress was nominated for an Oscar. That is a victory. Someone had to be first. It is the same conversation I have with people about Gone With The Wind. That movie definitely has not aged well, but I do not ever want to take away from Hattie McDaniel, because she started something that wouldn’t be repeated for over a decade. The first black actress to win an Oscar, and she wasn’t even allowed in the Dolby. She was kept in a hallway and allowed inside to accept the trophy upon winning. When you think of how dehumanizing that must have been, it also must have felt great to win over four actresses who were sitting comfortably in that theatre. Same goes for Carla Sofia Gazcon, who is being nominated as a Latina trans actress, at a time when America is closing borders and taking away the rights of the transgender community. Estas aqui (to paraphrase from a song).

But, I can see where people have a problem with the contents of Perez, as the character is initially presented as a male, who seems somewhat indifferent to transitioning specifically, and more interested in starting a new life. there’s a line of dialogue that bothered me, where Saldana asks if she wants a new life, or a new gender, and the response is “what is the difference?” Well, essentially, a lot. In the context of the film, after the transition, everyone is led to believe the male drug lord is dead, and now there’s this sister that shows up out of nowhere, to take care of his family. fo course, they are the same person. Many trans people have to make the decision to transition without killing themselves off, and making their old friends and family believe they died. Sometimes, it can feel like that, as people reject them, but everyone’s transition is different. I’m just not sure that many would identify with someone who seems to be more interested in a new life, and however they can get to it. I don’t think Jacques Audilard really took into consideration the set up, and establishing that a new gender is what she would have chosen, even if it didn’t lead to a new life. People transition because they have to. It isn’t a choice for them.

The performances seem good across the board, having seen this in both Spanish and now with English audio description, but I’m not crazy for the film. I’m happy Zoe Saldana is now an Oscar nominee, either way. She consistently turns in solid work.

Now, for the audio description. As a critic, I did reach out to the rep available to me, about audio description when I first noticed there wasn’t any. They checked, however they do, and reported no English audio description available, or plans for it to be coming soon. That was in early November. I also have a physical screener DVD missing audio description sent to me for my consideration. So, I know this was an after thought. That means IDC threw this at Liz Gutman and asked her to work her voodoo magic she does so well, and produce a top of the line track for a film getting a ton of attention, in record time. I’m sure some 24 hour energy shots were involved.

The writing is impeccable. Right at the beginning, when it is mostly just Saldana, we get so much description about her before the film gets busy. The first five minutes of this are so rich and deep. Having been able to see at a point in the past, that is what Zoe Saldana looks like, and as she identifies as Afro-Latina, her skin color description was a better choice. Normally, we go for ethnicity, but I’m pretty sure this entire cast is some version of Latinx. At least, the main cast certainly is. The rest of the description was great, but the movie starts getting more busy, so I did feel like I knew more about Saldana. Truth be told, she really is a co-lead with Gazcon, and not actually supporting. I could make that same argument for Ariana Grande in wicked though.

The track utilizes narrators reading the subtitles, so it is more like Shogun than Squid Game. that is because Netflix didn’t have time to develop a full dub with a singing cast like they did for the International versions of Matilda. So, the sound is balanced so you can hear the movie behind the narrators. I would have balanced it a bit more evenly, because the strength in doing it this way is maintaining the integrity of the original performers, something really important for a musical. You don’t want to blast the audio description so much that the singing isn’t really heard, and the somewhat monotone narration totally prevails. In Shogun, I hated the use of a single narrator, but appreciated the balance of hearing the original cast, and their emotion, even if I couldn’t understand them. Here, being able to hear the music and the singing is what you are aiming for, albeit in the background. It is such a delicate balance, and I would have backed off a bit.

As far as the voice talents, I liked everyone. I hate to use terms like “sounds like”, but in other international stuff, I’ve wanted dub casts to not sound so totally whitewashed. Apple Plus’s Women In Blue really felt like that, despite being an all Latinx cast. If I thought IDC has more than 48 hours to record this, i would have wanted Latinx voice talent to match. I’m pretty sure the narrator assigned to Emilia is trans. I love that, if so, because representation matters even behind the scenes. Just like how I hope the trans character on Squid Game has a trans voice talent. If given more latitude, and time, I might have tried finding someone whose pitch sat a bit higher, where Carla’s voice sits as Emilia. But, then again, perhaps having the contrast helped?

You might not like this track and how they describe the songs, but honestly, there isn’t another way to do this without actually singing. In song, we hold words out. Honestly, that’s all singing is. Sustained speaking. Pick any word, say it, but don’t close it off, and just keep holding it. You are now singing. So, even though the audio description track is avoiding singing… they kind of are. They are just doing it in this awkward, monotone-ish way, as they were not trying to produce a true musical dub cast. It was a very interesting track, and I totally understand why all these choices were made. It might throw some people off, but I don’t think there’s any problem at IDC, or with the track. The problem that despite winning a prize at Cannes, Netflix’s initial reaction back in May wasn’t “lets get an audio description team on this, so when we take it to other festivals, it can be accessible.” Accessibility was an afterthought, and it shows.

I’m still super excited and grateful they bucked the trend and made a track. This really is an exceptional track, made more so considering that Emilia Perez won the Golden Globe for best Musical Or Comedy just 20 days ago, and I’m strongly considering that win as a trigger for audio description. Basically, in less than three weeks, I believe Netflix commissioned and received an audio description track this good, that utilizes multiple voice talents, likely was quality checked, needed to have voice performers line up with singing, and all the other really complicated stuff this film required. I also think they even managed some real representation.

The existence of this is nothing short of a miracle, but the fact it is as good as it is has a lot to do with picking up the phone and calling the right company who will turn in the best possible product in that given span of time. That is what happened here.

For more, check out my video review.