Somehow I missed this wonderful French movie when it came out in ’97 – about a seven year old boy who’s certain that he’s a girl – but I finally saw it on DVD. It’s wonderful and very sad, and the young actor who plays young Ludovic is amazing. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it so perfectly captures the innocence of childhood and the awfulness of it for someone who is different. It really shows the way that social expectations and rules suffocate us, how we get slapped around when we step out of the bounds of what’s expected for us.
I don’t think anyone with any kind of gender difference – or anyone who was ever a child, for that matter – could see this movie and not identify with Ludovic. The movie has a happy ending, which I thought seemed maybe a little forced and which surprised me a little since French movies are often so tragic. But it is a wonderful and beautiful movie and definitely worth seeing.
Here are a few links on it, including an interesting one asking why this movie got an “R” rating?
http://www.whyismavieenroseratedr.com/