Now, 'trans' can compete with 'cis'?

Emilia Pérez (2025)

Director: Jacques Audiard

mvtimes.com/es/2024/10/29/emilia-
perez-film-musical-genre-bender/

This musical offering would not have garnered as much airtime if it had not been for an openly transgender individual who won the Best Actress awards at both the Cannes and the Oscars. Interestingly, a female actor (a cis woman) insists on being referred to strictly as an 'actor', not an 'actress'. They are particularly keen on this, demanding to be addressed as 'actors'. I suppose this does not apply to transgender actors. A quick glance at Karla Sofía Gascón's Wikipedia page states her occupation as an actress. For a transgender person, being addressed as female represents the ultimate victory of her transition. 

It continues to be one of the most nominated films of the year and the most nominated non-English language film in the Academy's history.

When it comes to the basics, this is a gangster film with a twist. The twist is that one can never conceive of a mob film as a musical. What's more, it makes the feared mobster, Manitas, want to leave it all behind to transition into becoming a woman after abandoning his wife and two children. To facilitate this, he hires an aspiring and desperate lawyer, Rita, to arrange all the medical and legal matters for him to disappear. After months of painful gender reassignment surgery and cosmetic procedures in Thailand and Israel, Manitas becomes Emilia Pérez. His wife and children are relocated to Switzerland. Manitas' death is staged.

Four years later, Manitas, now Emilia, must long for her family. She meets the family and introduces herself as Manitas' distant cousin. With the assistance of Rita, the lawyer, they relocate to Mexico City and live as one large, happy family. Trouble arises when Manitas' widowed wife rekindles her romance with an old flame. Emilia also runs a non-profit organisation that seeks justice for individuals killed by gangsters in Mexico.

Interspersed and woven into the story are actors bursting into song, occasionally with quite catchy tunes.

 

It's amusing that we used to laugh at Indian films when actors broke into song and dance back in the day. A 1932 Hindi film, Indersabha, along with its Tamil counterpart, Indrasabha, featured 70 songs. Now, Hollywood musicals are receiving awards—garnering all the nominations for highlighting the LGBTQ agenda, which is currently in vogue, though not so much for their artistic merit.

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The Survival Story

Society of the Snow (La sociedad de la nieve, Spanish; 2023)

Director: J.A. Bayona

We have discussed this movie before. Check here.

This is yet another version depicting one of the greatest human stories about survival. On October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 flew over the Andes from Uruguay to Chile. It was carrying 45 passengers on board, mostly Uruguayan rugby players. It crashed into the most inaccessible part of the mountain. Presumed to be dead by the authorities after failing to find them in their search-and-rescue, the 29 initial survivors were left to fend for themselves.

A few died due to their injury, and some in an avalanche that ensued. Exposed to the element and having no food to eat, they had to use the last of their survival skills, teamwork, and spiritual faith to hang on to their dear lives. When food became non-existent, somebody suggested that they eat the remains of the dead.

Initially, the passengers thought a rescue mission would ensue. After seeing planes just fly off and hearing on the radio sourced from the crashed plane that search-and-rescue missions had been called off, they became desperate. Caring for the injured, keeping themselves warm, getting food, and getting help were their immediate priorities.

The philosophical question of survival cannibalism played again and again amongst the survivors. On one hand, the thought of eating human flesh was repulsive. On the other hand, they were not killing another to eat them. They were merely consuming the cadaver, which will be consumed by creepy crawlies and bugs anyway. To put it to good use, like preserving the biggest asset to mankind, i.e. life, is worth it. Farm owners or cattle breeders are generally not too close with their flock, as they know their final destiny. Hence, on the flight, many of the deceased were known to each other. To eat the flesh of someone they knew must be in bad taste (pun unintended).

One of the survivors who refused to consume human flesh at all accounts succumbed, but he also had other physical injuries. Finally, the tenacious human spirit added with intelligence and a stroke of good luck or divine intervention*, two of them scaled mountains and ravines to finally get help. 

The movie's final moments end with some sombre thoughts. The emotional trauma that the survivors must have endured must have been enormous. 

When it all started, cheery smiles!

Out in the cold!

The actual footage during the final rescue in 1972.

* Does 'luck' or 'divine intervention' still play a role after all the passengers have gone through? It is natural to wonder whether it came too late.

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Just a biological act or something divine?

Y tu mamá también (And your mother too, Mexican Spanish, 2001)

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Interestingly, sex has always assigned the duty of maturing someone and smacking people with the profound answer of the reason for existence. Tinseltown impresses us that sex is the panacea to all our worldly problems. Of course, we all know that sex may also create problems of its own.

There was a time when sex was accorded a special status in society. Because of its mysterious nature, which was ill-understood by primitive men, sanctioning permission to indulge in this biological activity was complicated. Many requirements and rituals had to be fulfilled to obtain access.

As the societal restrictions became increasingly questioned with no logical explanation in sight, the biological act came to be treated as such, a biological process, not needing frills and pomp. Humans were merely continuing the spread of their seeds for the continuity of species.

Slowly sex lost its respected status in society. No more did ritual-sanctioning coital-related activities make any sense. Sex became a plaything and acquired many new roles - break-up sex, revenge sex, coming-of-age sex, casual one-night-stand sex and more; all deviated from its intended purpose, i.e. sowing the oats. Oats were sowed alright, but wildly.

But then, in modern society, sexuality becomes more complicated. Their premise is that love does not necessarily blossom between genders but within genders too. Gender is fluid, and a person picks and chooses the gender he feels at that moment; a male in the morning and a female in the evening, perhaps?

This story is about two precious sex-crazed 17 years-old boys who had left their girlfriends at the airport. The girls are off on a family European summer vacation. The boys, minors legally, are already smoking, drinking and sexually active. They are hoping for a sex-filled summer sexcapade. They meet a cousin's bored wife at a party. They try to flirt with her, offering to take her to a secret beach hideout. The bored wife discovers that her husband had a fling. Heartbroken, she decides to join the boys on their road trip.

The boys obviously want to bed the sexually mature lady. After many ups and downs, quarrelling and soul searching, the summer turned out to be a season none of them could forget, especially the boys.


"Life is like the surf, so give yourself away like the sea." is a dialogue in the movie. Well, it is not so straightforward. If one has put his mind to surfing, he has to manoeuvre his body and posture in such a way that he stays afloat and not swept away by a massive wave and goes under. In strict terms, he is not merely giving himself away to the sea but skilfully using the buoyancy of the water and propulsive forces of the waves to his benefit. Similarly, man cannot simply surrender to his primal instincts but plan his life with his intellect.

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The top, below and the will to fall.

The Platform (El Hoyo, Spanish, 2019)

The recent shopping spree shown by the public before an imminent lockdown following the Covid-19 shows how self-centred and selfish our society is. Some people stock up toilet rolls by the trolleys full just because they do not have to worry whether there is money left to be used for other things. The last thing on their mind is the fear of creating panic buying or that his fellow human will be struggling to get his. 

Some will blame the individual for such behaviour, whereas others will say that the system created such monsters.

We should be the change that we want, it is easy to say. Unfortunately, we are worried about our survival that we care less for others. Perhaps, we should learn that the joy of being wealthy is not in spending capriciously but using it judiciously.

The change in a broken system does not start from high above but from the people lower down the food chain. The ruling class do not see anything in the structure as it benefits them. Those in the lower rung are too disjointed and entrenched in their miseries that they feel helpless the corrupt. A change within the system needs to be initiated by the middle class to send a message to the ruling class that their system is broken and needed to be amended. This is a revolution. For this, there are people on the top, in the bottom and people who would fall for their cause in their course of action.

This Spanish film tells us about the monster that capitalism, which exploits our primal desires, has created. Symbolically, it shows a vertical prison where food is transported via a platform from level 0 all the way down to level 333 (as we later discover. 2 persons per floor would make it 666 occupants. 666, being the devil's reference, show the demonic nature of Man to survive.). 

The problem is the people on the top floors gorge on the offering, leaving crumbs or nothing for the rest below. Sometimes, they had to resort to cannibalism. Every month, their levels are changed at random. The upper occupants of the jail feel it is their time to indulge as they may not be so lucky the following month. 

Don Quixote and his sidekick Sancho Panza
- symbols for politics, beliefs and identity.
(Much like Adishankara who travelled to the four
corners of the Indian subcontinent to unite the nation)

The whole set-up stinks to high heavens, but no one is willing to take the lead to change or want to improve themselves. At the end of the day, someone had to take the fall to send a signal to the top by influencing the occupants of the bottom.

Just like how Don Quixote who travelled around the Spanish countryside to write an account and to unite the people, here the protagonist goes through all the levels to send a message of change. His philosophies of life are heard loud and clear in this show. Maybe, there is a hint that religion that could be an unnecessary diversion. Somewhere in the dialogue, one justifies cannibalism for survival by quoting a phrase often linked to Christianity - whoever eats the flesh and drinks the blood will live for eternity. It may be a suggestion that religion only relieves with short-term problems, not in our long-term living situations. That needs a change of mindset, excellent leadership from the middle strata of society, one who is knowledgable (one who reads) and a revolution of thoughts.

A thought-provoking one but not for the faint-hearted.

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Intelligent Crook?

Money Heist (La Casa De Papel, House of Paper)
Spanish miniseries, Netflix Season 1-3; 2017- present

It is no secret that countries which are secular in their politics perform better in economics. Look around. Nations who appear to showcase Roman Catholic in their day to day running of their lives, e.g. countries in the Iberian peninsula, in Latin America and the Philippines, perform worse off than their Protestant counterparts. We need not talk about Muslim nations or countries struggling to go all conservative to stay relevant. 

It seems that nations that look at pleasing the Money God seem more progressive and advanced technologically and socioeconomically. By this, I mean these countries look at acquiring wealth at a level more important than to satisfy the imagined Man in the heaven or the intangible Forces of Nature. They feel money can solve their problems in this life and do not need to follow preset rules on Earth to receive its unassured retribution in another realm or on another birth.

Retractors will insist that they are missing the woods from the trees. There are more things to life than acquiring wealth that maintaining good virtue is the aim of life. We are paying for the Original Sin, and that Salvation is attained through selfless acts and His Grace.  Are these mere rants of a loser who insists the grapes that he failed to acquire must have been sour anyway?

Whatever it is, money seems the physical proof that life actually improves on Earth. Or do they? Tales of lottery winners with windfall and ending up worse off then they were initially is well known to us. 

According to Netflix, 'Money Heist' is its most-watched non-English miniseries. Even though the dubbing can be fixed in some places and there can be room for improvement in the acting department, it nevertheless, manages to keep its viewers at the edge of their seats. As the title suggests, the story revolves around a carefully planned heist at the Royal Mint. The modus operandum is to hold the staff of the mint and a group of student-visitors as hostages as the crooks use the machinery to print brand-new crisp, authentic Euros. Maybe, as the episodes drag on, due to prolonged contact with the robbers, the audience, just like their hostages, builds a sympathetic bond as like in Stockholm Syndrome.

Along the way, we are introduced to Professor, the mysterious leader of the pack and the motley crew of 8 robbers who form the rest of the gang. All of them have a sob story to explain their miserable life and how they landed there. The plan is to print €2.4 billion and to abscond through a self-built tunnel. Things become complicated as the Professor, who is stationed outside to guide through the operation and negotiate with the police, falls hopelessly in love with the investigating police chief. And it is mutual.

Initially, the story is believable, but the series progresses, it is evident that much masala is infused into it. Too many outlandish coincidences and instances of 'near misses' make one lose interest. It is only so many times that the preparator's identity can be repeatedly close to being uncovered. There were, however, many interesting discussion about human behaviour and philosophy amongst the baddies. But, do you expect villains to be so highly refined and intellectually superior? Why not? Intelligence can be used both ways - for betterment or destruction of mankind!

With the runaway success of the first two seasons, spoiler alert, and their successful heist, the producers decided to have more of their finely crafted planning. Living incognito in separate lives, one of the crook's identity is discovered and is apprehended. In the 3rd and the yet to be released 4th season, they attempt to rob the Bank of Spain of its gold. The former inspector and a former hostage are now in their team. The story only gets more bizarre. A burglar who was riddled with bullets in the 2nd season is walking around talking philosophy, and nobody is curious. There is only so much DIY medical emergencies that one can handle. Removing glass shrapnels from the eyes, treating brain injury and full-blown heart attack is not something one can do at the drop of the hat. It is becoming more and more another offering of ‘Fast and Furious’. 

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A Hybrid - A thrilling romantic?

The Secret in their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos, Argentina; 2009)
What happens when the director of 'House' and 'Law & Order' decides to do a joint venture film between Argentina and Spain? This movie - a thriller with a gruesome murder whilst the legal eagles involved in the cases see love in each others' eyes materialises!

It is a lovey dovey movie for the mature, narrating the members involved in the investigation of a senseless rape and murder of a pretty young wife. They thought they had nailed the assailant down. 25 years later, after the assistant counselor (Benjamin Esposito) retires and plans to write a novel about the murder, he discovers that there is more to it than what meets the eye.

A scene at railways when they depart ways - Esposito
being transferred and the boss soon to be tied the knot!

His immediate boss, a young Cornell trained judge 25 years previously, had the hots for him then and the feeling was mutual. Neither party made any attempts to express their inner feelings as she was engaged to be married, and he, engrossed in his work and having had gone through broken marriages.

With her proof reading his script, whilst the film reenacts the sequel of events, she discovers his inner feelings and we, the audience enjoy a 2-hour saga of police work, restrained love feelings, the emotional hangings of a widower, the unscrupulous government machinery which favours well-being of the nation rather than punishing the wrong doers. Did I mention that they were some poetic dialogues, though they were translated ones, via subtitles? eg. "We are left with so many memories, just choose the good ones!"

TE MO = I fear
TEAMO = Love!
(the case of typewriter with
faulty letter A)

Two fascinating aspects of the movie are the excellent work of cinematography where the cuts appear like one of investigative journalism and the excellent work of makeup. Many of the angles taken were different, like how the film maker zooms in to football stadium where the murderer is apprehended. Quite revolutionary. As the story flip flops between two eras of 25 years apart, the actors are the same but the makeup alters them quite significantly without giving the impression of being painted upon!
Interesting, interesting....

Tsunami relived!

Lo Imposible (The Impossible, 2012)
Leave it to the film-makers to re-enact even the most difficult of nature's catastrophe, so much so that the survivors re-live and suffer the stresses of the trauma of the event all over again. Like what a 'learned' leader once said, "If Hollywood can make 'Avatar', the powers that control Hollywood can make us believe through all their stories that they wants us to believe! - Holocaust, Osama and all.."
In this way, the excellent cinematography made us believe that they actually re-created a tsunami when everything was shot in a giant swimming pool and generous help from computer graphic imaging!
This Naomi Watts-Ewan McGregor disaster flick is based on a certain Maria Belon's Christmas family vacation to an exotic tropical paradise location in an island in Thailand. After a peaceful bliss of a Christmas day and family bonding time, tragedy struck the family with 3 young boys on Boxing day of 2004.

The lull before the storm
Bliss before disaster!

As we are well aware by now of the devastation and destruction, it is not necessary to elaborate. The family gets separated in two. Mother Maria fights for her life with her thirteen year old son, Lucas, in the water. With a fractured leg, she drags on, rescuing an unknown toddler along the way. The father, Henry is still in the vicinity of the hotel together with his two sons (7 and 5). After a momentary separation, (father and his sons as well as mother and son), the family is reunited and head to Singapore for medical treatment- thanks to Zurich travel insurance.
The story is nothing new but kudos to excellent cinematography and stellar acting by Watts as the mother and a young Tom Holland as the 13 year old Lucas.