The French musical thriller 'Emilia Pérez' won the most awards of any film at the Golden Globes on Sunday, taking home best musical and best foreign language film. The first major movie honours of Hollywood's awards elevates the film’s chances at the Oscars.
Voters for the Golden Globes – journalists around the world – named French director Jacques Audiard's Emilia Pérez best movie musical or comedy, ahead of Wicked, Jon Chu’s movie adaptation of the famous Broadway musical.
The Spanish-language experimental hybrid musical, about a Mexican drug lord who transitions to a woman, which wowed audiences in Cannes this year, led all films with four awards in total, including a supporting actress honour for Zoe Saldana, and best song.
Set in Mexico but filmed entirely in a studio near Paris, the film blends drama, romance, comedy and thriller elements.
“In these troubled times, I hope that Emilia Perez will be a beacon of light for those of us not lucky enough to count among their friends a woman as powerful and passionate as Karla Sofía Gascón,” said Audiard, referring to the film's star.
He dedicated the prize to those worried about the future and what 2025 is going to look like, urging them to keep fighting for their rights.
Gascón, who was the first transgender woman to be nominated for best actress, lost to Demi Moore.
“I am who I am. Not who you want,” Gascón said, accepting the best musical award for the film.
"You can never take away our soul, or existence or identity," she added, and gesturing to her orange dress, she reminded the audience that “light always wins over darkness”.
Demi Moore who plays an ageing celebrity who takes an experimental drug to create a younger version of herself in The Substance, said she had once been dismissed as a "popcorn actress" and feared her career was over.
"I'm just in shock right now," Moore said as she held her trophy on stage. "I've been doing this a long time, over 45 years. This is the first time I've ever won anything as an actor."
The best movie drama went to The Brutalist, the story of a Holocaust survivor who chases the American dream, and star Adrien Brody won best drama film actor. The film also landed the best director prize for Brady Corbet.
The Golden Globes kick off the awards season in Hollywood that culminates with the Academy Awards in March, and winning one can help focus attention on movies for the Oscars.
(with Reuters)
