Jacques Audiard's operatic musical Emilia Pérez is the story of a disillusioned lawyer working in Mexico, Zoe Saldaña's Rita, who gets a mysterious phone call and is whisked, blindfolded, to a secret location. There, the gruff leader of a drug cartel, Juan "Manitas" Del Monte, outlines a delicate but lucrative mission. Manitas wants to transition to living as a woman and wants Rita to arrange the surgery and subsequent disappearance. Rita pulls it off: In a few years, Manitas re-emerges as the person she always knew she needed to be. She is now Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón plays both roles), free to live as she chooses. Rita thinks her mission is over, though it's just beginning.
In fiction, as in real life, it's easy to view a dream fulfilled as a happy ending. But after Emilia gets what she wants, she asks, Now what? Emilia Pérez is a story not about personal fulfillment but about personal responsibility, and what happens after you become the person you were destined to be.
This story is from the December 09, 2024 edition of Time.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 09, 2024 edition of Time.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Q & A: Borge Brende
The World Economic Forum president talks with TIME editor Sam Jacobs
Q & A - Rene Haas
Arm's CEO on how his hardware is supporting the Fourth Industrial Revolution
The conflicts looming over 2025
WHEN DONALD TRUMP TOOK THE OATH OF OFFICE AS President in January 2017, his first foreign policy priority was to get tough on China. The Trump 2.0 Administration will continue that work. But when he strides back into the Oval Office in January 2025, Trump will also become responsible for U.S. management of two dangerous wars, the kinds of hot foreign policy crises he was fortunate to avoid during his first term.
Rev Lebaredian
Nvidia's vice president of Omniverse and simulation technology on training AI-powered robots
5 predictions for AI in 2025
New uses and policy questions come into focus
Roy Wood Jr. The comedian on his new stand-up special, the importance of working in food service, and learning from Keanu Reeves
8 QUESTIONS WITH Roy Wood Jr.
A call for global cooperation in the Intelligent Age
Cultivate wisdom along with innovation
The D.C. Brief
IN THE END, THE THREAT OF A FARright revolt proved more menacing than most imagined, as Republican Mike Johnson initially came up short on Jan. 3 during the first balloting to keep him as Speaker.
The digital labor revolution
OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, WE'VE WITNESSED advances in AI that have captured our imaginations with unprecedented capabilities in language and ingenuity. And yet, as impressive as these developments have been, they're only the opening act. We are now entering a new era of autonomous AI agents that take action on their own and augment the work of humans. This isn't just an evolution of technology. It's a revolution that will fundamentally redefine how humans work, live, and connect with one another from this point forward.
Tech we can trust
Serving humanity's best interests must be at the center of progress
