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The Empty Symbolism of Emilia Pérez’s Ending


The film’s attempts to address Mexico’s race and class inequality are rendered obsolete by its pat conclusion.

Throughout the film, Emilia atones for her ostensibly violent past by helping families recover some of the media designated- “desaparecidos,” — casualties of drug trade violence. Their distance from that kind of whiteness is part of what shuts them out of opportunities, and is why many of them— from Griselda Blanco to “ El Chapo ” and Pablo Escobar — turned to violent, underground economies. One oddly literal musical number takes place in a hospital where the staff shout out various surgical procedures at Rita, as she determines which doctor would work best for Emilia.

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