Selena Gomez Stars in Jacques Audiard Musical

You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a movie musical where the words “mammoplasty, vaginoplasty, rhinoplasty” play out in song. Nor have you lived until you’ve seen that same movie musical in which Selena Gomez says the words “My pussy still hurts when I think of you.” And you’ve never seen a movie musical at all about transness that takes as bold of swings as Jacques Audiard‘s “Emilia Pérez,” which is stylistically unforgettable while missing the crucial element that makes any movie musical work: Actually good, memorable songs.

Audiard is the 72-year-old French director known ever for dipping into other worlds and genres that are far from his own as a cis white guy from Europe. His 2015 Palme d’Or winner “Dheepan” was a story of Tamil refugees who’ve fled Sri Lankan civil war for Paris. “The Sisters Brothers” was his attempt at a western comedy made within the American studio system. “Rust and Bone” was a throwback to the great romantic dramas of yore, where “A Prophet” plunged us into the Corsican mafia through the eyes of an Algerian. Audiard is never for lack of vision or daring, and that extends to the Mexican “Emilia Pérez,” starring Karla Sofía Gascón as the title trans woman, who’s abandoned her family with the help of overqualified civil defense attorney Rita (Zoe Saldana) but four years later wants them back.