Tomboy (2011)

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I watched this movie a few months ago, and I still think about it occasionally, so it did leave a mark for sure. It does have a lot going for it - very convincing performances by the child actors, fine cinematography, and an intriguing story line. That said, I am somewhat disappointed at how the movie treats the subject matter, perpetuating the "boys will be boys" and "girls will be girls" stereotypes. I understand that plenty of truth to the stereotypes, and it doesn't do any good to that things such as homophobia, transphobia, queerphobia and sexism do not exist, but for a movie that deals with the touchy subject of gender to be worthwhile, I feel it should view these issues with at least somewhat of a critical lens, and not merely paint the picture of "this is how things are" and leave it at that. "How things are" I see in real life and live in my own childhood. So, while not a bad movie by any stretch, it did feel sort of unresolved. And sad.

From the director of the very good Water Lilies, a film about teenage sexuality. This one is similar in theme, with a style seemingly derived from the Dardennes (Water Lilies was far less documentary realist). Zoe Heran stars as a pre-teen girl who wishes she were a boy. Her parents think she's just a tomboy, perhaps that it's just a phase, but when the family moves into their new home during the middle of summer break, Heran introduces herself to the local children as Mikael. There are a few weeks left before school starts. She doesn't have much of a plan other than to enjoy her time as a boy. Of course, exposure is ever lurking. Heran is excellent, as are Jeanne Disson as the girl with whom she gets somewhat romantically involved and Malonn Levana as Heran's little sister (the moment where she figures out what her sister's up to is as great a moment of acting as anything achieved by Quevenzhane). Like any Dardennes film, it's simple, sweet, and quietly devastating.

I first heard about this movie about four months ago on www.rottentomato.com I was interested in this movie because of how highly rated the movie was. I was excited to see this streamable on netflix, so I got the chance to watch it. I thought this was a well made French movie. It is full of heart. For a 1 hour and 22 minute movie, it felt a little slow. Not much happens through that time. Zoe Herán is quite convincing as the girl who dresses and pretends to be a boy. There were times where I forgot she was a girl! There was not really any bad acting in this movie. The writing was good as well. I did find that the ending was a disappointment. I thought it should have finished differently. In my head, I plotted a few different endings that should would have been better than the ending they went with. All in all, a fun, decent movie.

Spreads warmth throughout, with little gaps were you have to refill the cup, but ultimately leaves you feeling happy inside.I love nearly everything about this film. The acting, the cinematography, the themes it gets across. All in all, a very natural, beautiful and at times, bittersweet film.The only few things I would criticise is that 1) there is a scene or two where the 6-year old girl, Jeanne, speaks with the mind of someone a lot older. Yes, the bond between her and Laure/Mickael is very tight but some of the things she said felt a bit unnatural for her age.Don't get wrong, however, these occurrences are few and far between and the relationship they had was so heart-warming. It was one of the things I enjoyed most.My second criticism is hardly even a criticism - It's too short! I was just left wanting to see more. There are more cynical people out there, I imagine, who would question this film and it's viewers after some of the things we see on-screen i.e the bath scene, and a few others because Laure/Mickael is 10. However, for this film to work, and because it is after all, an innocent film, you have to view it through completely innocent eyes. I'd feel sorry for anyone who disregards this film through being unable to do that.I would lastly question the decision in the script to make the mother pregnant but maybe that's something I just didn't quite pick up on.I gave Tomboy an 8/10 after seeing it last year but it's been bumped up to an 9 after a second viewing. It's an amazing piece of work lead by very impressive performances from Malon Lévanne (Jeanne) and Zoé Héran (Laure/Mickael)9/10