For the first century of the movie industry, the movie musical took multiple forms, but the music itself served largely to further the plot, and to articulate the thoughts and feelings of characters. Director Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, and Carlos Marques-Marcet’s They Will Be Dust (Polvo serán) demonstrate a different take on what music — and dance — can add to film.
Both of them, as it happens, are Spanish language films.
They Will Be Dust (Polvo serán) | Carlos Marques-Marcet, director WORLD PREMIERE (Spain, Italy, Switzerland)
A contemporary dance musical overlaps the action of this drama that takes an unsentimental look at the way we die in modern society. Claudia (Ángela Molina) is given a diagnosis of incurable brain cancer. She doesn’t want to simply wait for death to overtake her; she’ll travel to Switzerland for an assisted death, and her partner of decades, Flavio (Alfredo Castro) decides to not only take the trip but go all the way with her to their final end on a clean Swiss bed. They’ve largely forgotten about what their children might think of the idea.
Naturally, family dramas ensue, and the film takes a clear-eyed look at all parties involved. She was a dancer and actress, he was her director; that tells you about the egos in the mix. Family truths come out, as do the mundane details of taking one’s own life in an institutional setting.
It’s shot with an art house sensibility, and a soundtrack that often uses contemporary choral and instrumental music along with traditional operatic excerpts.
The film opens with a music/dance scene, one that is brilliantly integrated into the action of the story, beginning with Maria Callas singing on the stereo, and seeming to insert itself into the scene almost incidentally. Operatic music flits in and out of the story, and the few contemporary dance and music sequences serve to illustrate the emotions of a character, and existential contemplation.
If there’s a quibble, it’s that there could have been one or two more of these fascinating sequences. The performances are sincere and entirely believable, both in the inevitably sad moments, as well as the humour that is sprinkled throughout the script.
They Will Be Dust has been picked up for distribution in Spain by Latido Films, and is likely to hit art house cinemas some time next year.
Emilia Pérez | Jacques Audiard, director CANADIAN PREMIERE (France)
This French production takes place in Mexico and in the Spanish language, populated by stars cast in unglamorous roles. Zoe Saldana (billed as Zoe Saldaña), is Rita Moro Castro, a lawyer who’s getting tired of getting bad guys off the hook. Without make-up, in ordinary clothes, she’s the clear-eyed centre of a story about our capacity for change and forgiveness, along with violence and retribution.
Rita is drawn into representing Manitas Del Monte, a cartel criminal who wants to transition to a woman — the titular Emilia Pérez. Manitas/Emilia is played by Karla Sofía Gascón with depth and conviction as someone who literally wants to change their skin.
The question becomes… can someone truly change? Does the past ever really just go away?
Selena Gomez plays Jessi, Manitas’ spouse and mother of his kids, as a typically tarted up gangster’s wife. But, Emilia has forgotten about Jessi’s own will and desires in the new life she’s put together.
The perspective of the story moves from one character to another, and each has at least one song and dance number. The soundtrack ranges from neoclassical to contemporary and electronic dance music in sequences that seem to flow naturally from the story. Along with songs that talk about feelings, there is an unexpected musical tribute to washing machines, and other quirky perspectives. Gomez of course sings, but Zoe Saldaña also performs her own vocals in the film. The music adds emotional depth along with entertainment value.
In the end, transformation is never without its messiness. Emilia Pérez undergoes a final transformation in the last scenes, one that takes place in the hearts of the people.
- There are two remaining screenings at TIFF on September 13; find out more about them [HERE].
As a Netflix production, however, it’s likely to show up on your favourite streaming device soon.
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