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The front-runner for this year鈥檚 Academy Awards defies easy categorization. 鈥淓milia P茅rez鈥� is about a Mexican drug lord who undergoes gender transition treatment to become a woman. It鈥檚 part musical, part telenovela, part action movie 鈥� and wholly original.

The movie, streaming on Netflix, scored 13 Oscar nominations. That鈥檚 a record for an international film. Karla Sof铆a Gasc贸n also scored a best actress nomination for the titular role. She鈥檚 the first openly transgender actress to receive an Oscar nod.

Today, 鈥淓milia P茅rez鈥� isn鈥檛 just the talk of the town. Hollywood is staking a marker for transgender representation the very same week that President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring that trans people effectively do not exist.

鈥淓milia P茅rez鈥� arrives with considerable prestige. It won the Jury Prize at Cannes and the Golden Globe for best picture, musical or comedy.

Even so, 鈥淓milia P茅rez鈥� is divisive. But in this case, it鈥檚 too simplistic to pit liberal Hollywood against conservative Trumpists. Many trans film critics and advocates say it鈥檚 a backward, trope-ridden portrayal of trans women. Yet 鈥淓milia P茅rez鈥� has plenty of enthusiastic supporters, too. Some say that its themes about authentic identity are more powerful for featuring a flawed trans character rather than a villain or a saint.

鈥淲hat [Oscar] voters are responding to is a bold, original filmmaking style. When you sit down and watch that film, you鈥檙e going on a wild ride that is unlike any film that you have ever seen before,鈥� says Debra Birnbaum, editor in chief of GoldDerby.com. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e responding to headlines in the world and they鈥檙e responding to things that matter to them and they鈥檙e responding to things that they鈥檙e passionate about.鈥�

Reacting to the nominations, Ms. Gasc贸n told The Hollywood Reporter it鈥檚 an honor. 鈥淲hat love,鈥� said the actress, who has a child with her wife. 鈥淚 feel fulfilled.鈥�

Ms. Gasc贸n says that her campaign for the movie will focus on overcoming bigotry. Earlier this week, she responded to President Trump鈥檚 executive order by declaring, 鈥淗e is shameless.鈥�

The order, signed Monday, stipulates that the government鈥檚 language and policy will recognize biological sex rather than gender identity. Women are biologically female, the order states, and men are biologically male. President Trump鈥檚 order railed against ideologues who have used 鈥渓egal and other socially coercive means鈥� to gain access to spaces and activities for women. The new president also banned transgender people from serving in the military. LGBTQ+ advocates view the executive order as an erasure of transgender rights. It is sure to face legal challenges.

An election, the Oscars, and backlash

In his less than favorable film review of 鈥淓milia P茅rez鈥� in November, trans writer Caden Mark Gardner commented on the confluence of the movie and Mr. Trump鈥檚 electoral win.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not that I thought significant progress had been made or that 鈥榯he world was ready for us,鈥� but witnessing a certain strain of transphobic malice that had been fomented by online far-right internet trolls being transferred to the highest office in the world, is a surreal development,鈥� wrote Mr. Gardner, author of 鈥淐orpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema.鈥� 鈥淲ith its storytelling stumbles and lackluster music, Emilia Perez was never going to be a film that I could embrace, but its arrival in this moment in history feels like [the] botched punchline of a cosmic joke.鈥�

A new poll by The New York Times and Ipsos revealed that 79% of respondents, including 67% of Democrats, believe that trans women should not be allowed to compete in women鈥檚 sports. A majority favor banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for those under age 18. That includes 54% of Democrats. Asked whether society has gone too far in accommodating transgender people, 49% answered in the affirmative.

A reason for the backlash is that trans activists fueled a culture war, says Brianna Wu, a transgender woman who is a well-known podcaster and commentator, in a phone interview. Although Ms. Wu applauds 鈥淓milia P茅rez鈥� for casting an actual trans woman as the lead, she found the movie exploitative and shallow. She fears its Oscar nominations reflect Hollywood鈥檚 desire to signal its own virtue rather than to assess works of art. And she sees other examples.

鈥淲e鈥檝e put drag queens in front of children at libraries, not because it changes minds, but because it鈥檚 a poke in the eye to our conservative neighbors,鈥� says Ms. Wu, co-host of the 鈥淒ollcast鈥� podcast. The Mississippi native says that although many people she knew struggled to understand her transition, she鈥檒l never forget how kind they were. That includes the Presbyterian minister who presided over her wedding to her husband. Republicans see transgender identity as a private issue, says Ms. Wu, who is a centrist Democrat.

What does it mean to live an authentic life?

The musical isn鈥檛 the only Oscar-nominated movie to grapple with gender and identity. 鈥淐onclave,鈥� a drama about Catholic cardinals vying to become the next pope, does so in surprising ways. It received eight Oscar nominations. During a press tour for 鈥淲icked,鈥� Oscar nominees Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande touted the movie鈥檚 LGBTQ+ subtext.

鈥淓milia P茅rez鈥澛犅爂rapples with identity by asking what it means to live as our authentic selves. How do appearances square with who we are? The movie explores that theme in a number of ways.

Zoe Salda帽a, who garnered a best supporting actress for playing Emilia鈥檚 lawyer, Rita, also wrestles with who she is. In one musical sequence, Rita attends a fancy dinner for Mexico鈥檚 elite. She pirouettes and flits from table to table, pointing out the hidden hypocrisies of each attendee. But Rita betrayed her own ideals by helping arrange the drug lord鈥檚 gender transition in exchange for a lavish payout. She wants to reclaim her integrity.

Rita also wants to become a mother. Here, again, she has to reframe her sense of identity. Does motherhood require giving birth to children, or is it the expression of nurturing qualities and unconditional love?

As for Emilia, she wishes to atone for the atrocities she committed as a cartel leader. She establishes a nonprofit to help families hurt by cartels. At one point, the cartel leader explains that she鈥檚 always identified as a woman. But in order to hide that true self, she acted violently.

Writing in Out magazine, Mexican American trans cultural critic Mey Rude praised 鈥淓milia P茅rez鈥� for its complexity and nuance. 鈥淭he movie is very clear that no matter how hard Emilia pretends that her old self is dead, she鈥檚 not. She鈥檚 the same person she always was, and transitioning doesn鈥檛 change that,鈥� Ms. Rude writes. She adds, 鈥淓milia is not a nice person and she鈥檚 not a forgiving person. Of course that won鈥檛 change when she transitions.鈥� As a surgeon in the movie says, 鈥淚f he鈥檚 a wolf, she鈥檒l be a wolf.鈥�

In the Oscar stakes, 鈥淓milia P茅rez鈥� is trailed by 鈥淭he Brutalist鈥� and 鈥淲icked.鈥� 鈥淭he Brutalist,鈥� whose 3 1/2 hours is broken up by an intermission 鈥� much to the relief of cinemagoers who bought supersized drinks at the concession stand 鈥� garnered 10 nominations. It鈥檚 about a Hungarian architect (best actor nominee Adrien Brody) who immigrates to America after World War II. The musical 鈥淲icked鈥� also netted 10 nods.

鈥淓milia P茅rez鈥� is also France鈥檚 entry for best international film this year. It garnered two nominations in the best original song category. Jacques Audiard was also nominated for best director.

鈥淭he fact that it鈥檚 not just one category and it鈥檚 not just [nominated for] international film, but it鈥檚 up and down the slate really speaks to the filmmaking prowess,鈥� says Ms. Birnbaum of Gold Derby. 鈥淭he voters are saying, 鈥榊es, we are along this ride with you. And we very much enjoyed it.鈥欌��