Reviews

Normal is about Roy Applewood, who then becomes Ruth Applewood. Early on in the film Roy expresses to his wife Irma that he has always desired to live as a female. The emotional turmoil that this puts Irma through is very profound, and she struggles to accept her husband's change of lifestyle. She even goes as far as to nearly commit adultery against Roy/Ruth through her emotional turmoil. A particular issue in the film is their son's feelings of awkwardness regarding Roy's transformation. The family is weakened and strengthened by the following turn of events. The film depicts how the couple works though this issue together, and the strength of the bond of family and marriage.

One thing that should be noted is that the overall feeling of the film is very bland. All characters are very old (no offense to anyone,) dialogue becomes very heavy/boring, cinematography is flat, and the overall pace of the film is very slow. Since the story is unconventional, and the pace of the story is very slow, the film would have been aided by having more artistic film-making/experimental shots. But unfortunately since the film was produced by HBO films, we already know that we will not get anything artistic, but simply something which is trying to appeal to sexually repressed older/married people. HBO is a mid-life crisis exploitation channel, and this film demonstrates that clearly.

On a positive note, the film could have significant meaning particularly for someone who is married and has had any sort of transgender feelings.

Princesa is a very dark and gritty film. It is based on a novel of the same name written by Maurizio Janelli.

The film details the story of Fernanda, a Brazilian transsexual woman who immigrates to Italy in order to begin prostitution; not because she wants to, but simply because it was the only way to finance her goal of having a sexual reassignment surgery. Her self-esteem is taken to extreme lows until she meets Gianni; a levelheaded man who Fernanda as a real woman and not a sexual object. Some of Fernanda's self-esteem is regained through this relationship, but Fernanda still questions her own self-worth for not being born with a completely female body.

The film itself is visually dark because most of the scenes take place at night. This alone shows how transgered individuals are forced to work night-jobs, usually in the sex industry. The look of the film itself is also very gritty. This helps to communicate an unsettling sense of reality as such a struggle is not an uncommon thing.

The acting by Ingrid de Souza is top-notch, considering she is a transsexual female herself. The acting is very believable, in such a sense that it is almost not even acting; because Ingrid was apparaently channeling her own experiences and emotions into the performance. This is what makes the film so real.

If one choses to watch this film, don't expect any comedy, any amazing spectacle, or to feel happy at the end of the film. Be prepared to watch something that depicts a very unfortunate reality.

Soldier's Girl is a very disheartening film. It should also be noted that it was directed by Frank Pierson, who wrote Cool Hand Luke, and Dog Day Afternoon.

The film is about Barry Winchell, who upon recently joining an Army division in Tennessee is befriended by a fellow trainee named Justin. Justin then brings Barry to a drag-queen performance club where Barry is stunned by the beauty of Calpernia, a transgender female performer at the club.

After some initial apprehension, Barry and Calpernia eventually become a couple. While Justin himself even seems to be sexually active with some of the other transgender females at the club himself, Justin then begins to spread rumors throughout the Army division that Barry is a homosexual. Justin socially engineers an entire scenario against Barry, eventually leading to a very unfortunate sequence of events. The fact that it is based on a true story gives it even more of an emotional impact.

A things about the film is the acting of Troy Garity. He portrays Barry to be such a likable person. It becomes so easy to like Barry's character, which is what makes the the events that transpire so difficult to accept.

Shawn Hatosy also does a solid job in his portrayal of Justin. Since Justin apparently was heavily medicated throughout the film, and claims to have had "ADHD", it is easy to see that he did the necessary research in order to portray Justin's character.

Aside from being a very controversial film on its own, the film brings into question the "Dont ask, don't tell" policy. While the policy seems to have recently been abolished, the entire concept of hate crimes against sexual minorities is portrayed in the film. The thing that is particular though in this film, is that it portrays hate crimes against someone for simply being with a sexual minority.

We should all remember the story of Barry Winchell. He did nothing wrong.

Beautiful Boxer is a very sensitive film which portrays a biographical timeline of the life events of the transsexual former Muay Thai Champion, Nong Thoom.

Thoom's story is told in a very sympathetic manner, and it is through the delicate story telling that the audience can see Thoom's struggle of self-acceptance, perseverance, inner courage, and social circumstances.

Nong Thoom's character is portrayed very believably by Asanee Suwan as his debut film. The performance even awarded him the Thailand National Film Association's prize for Best Actor. Through his portrayal of Nong Thoom, it becomes possible for the audience to really gain of a sense of the inner struggle that Thoom endured throughout her life in order to be who she wanted to be.

Aside from the story and it's portrayal itself, a commonly overlooked aspect of the film is it's color and sense of atmosphere. The sequences in particular which depict Nong Thoom's childhood/early years display very lush forest greens, and carry a very soothing atmosphere. Not to say that there were was any graphical/color manipulations applied to the forest scenes (while there may have been slightly, as is the case in practically any film) it is more of how delicately such scenes were treated in terms of atmosphere which was a standout quality to the film. Such relaxing scenes also aid the depiction and communicate the sense that Nong Thoom's childhood, although she was discriminated against in a subtle manner; was lucky enough to still live a peaceful childhood despite her transgender feelings. It could be that through such a base of peace, and (mostly) support around her at a young age, that she was able to persevere at a very consistent rate until she became the most popular Muay Thai Champion in Thailand.

I rate this film highly for it's sense of biographical delicacy, nicely shot fight-scenes, and soothing sense of atmosphere. Biography, martial arts, and drama fans alike all have equal potential to enjoy this film.

Just Like a Woman is a British comedy film made in 1992. The central driven theme that the comedic situations are based around is transvestism.

Well-groomed businessman Gerald, played by Adrian Pasdar, is left by his wife under the pretext that she has discovered women's lingerie in Gerald's possession. Unable to explain that the lingerie is actually his own, Gerald rents a room in the house of a slightly older and recently divorced woman named Monica. A relationship between them quickly establishes, and it becomes apparent that Gerald will at some point need to reveal his "hobby" to those he is close to, or be doomed to the repeating fate such as that of being left by his spouse and children. The loss of self-esteem that Gerald experiences as a cause of his reluctance to reveal his cross-dressing tendencies, and due to societal conditioning, also carries over into his professional life.

Gerald is portrayed and acted in such a round manner that it becomes easy to find oneself cheering for him to find the courage to be who he is. The relationship between Gerald and Monica is also portrayed in such a way that is believable, and it does appear as if the two care for each other beyond a superficial level.

An original aspect of the story is obviously that is covers the taboo subject of transvestism, and the implications that such a lifestyle can have on one's self-esteem. The film also touches base on cultural differences regarding the moral and social implications that cross-dressing can have in non-western countries.

I felt that the subject matter was presented in a very tasteful manner, and is presented in such a way that is enjoyable to the viewers. I would recommend this film for any adult who has a penchant for subversion, or simply just wants to have a good time!

French Twist, also known as "Gazon Maudit" in France, is a French Sexual-Comedy film which playfully explores some aspects of homosexuality, gender roles, infidelity, and homophobia. The subjects explored in the movie may sound heavy on paper, but in the actual context of the film were used more as a means to carry the comedy itself. That is to say, the themes in the film, while not commonly explored, were not overly-subversive in a sense which would the film a "heavy" feeling.

The comedic situations take place between the three main characters; Laurent, his wife Loli, and a lesbian DJ/drifter Marijo. The film establishes quite early that since Laurent is an infidel and emotionally neglectful to his wife Loli, Loli engaging in homosexually promiscuous behavior with Marijo is not necessarily a betrayal to their marriage. The psychology of this sort of 'revenge' against the neglectful husband is what prevents the audience from seeing Loli as a wretched being.

Most of the comedy is based around awkward situations created by Marijo's attraction to Loli. Some gender stereotypes and sexist perspectives are explored mainly through Laurent's behavior, and conversations between him and his perverted friend. Laurent states that he could understand his wife being promiscuous with a female, "But with that?", implying that he would support lesbianism only in the case of both females being attractive. Laurent also states that it is acceptable for males to be sexual infidels to their spouse, but not for females to do so. Also considering that Loli gave up her ambitions as a dancer to be a "housewife" with Laurent implies that upon marrying Laurent, she had to conform to a certain gender role. Homophobia is also explored in the sense that it seems as if his wife's homosexual explorations must be accepted by Laurent for him to progress as a character, and solve the issue between him and Loli. The film playfully toys with these concepts by placing Marijo as the factor who upsets the status-quo, and quickly becomes the forefront of the chaos that ensues. Even with such aspects in the film, it consistently maintains a light-tone throughout the narrative.

The film itself manages to incorporate what may be considered taboo subject matter by some, into a narrative which could be enjoyed by anyone (particularly in large groups/class screenings, etc.) If there was ever an outrage which occurred regarding the film's content, the cause of the outrage is probably more regional/cultural rather than being incited by the film's content itself. The film does portray homosexuality, infidelity, nudity, sex, verbal cursing, and drug-use; which justifies it's R-rating; though considering the film is rated "Everyone" in France, it becomes evident that any sort of backlash regarding the film is justified or not depending on the moral standings of the particular region in which the film is being viewed. Even with that said, I would not show this film to children because of the nudity, sex scenes, heavy language, and drug-use.

The film is a comedy as being its base-genre, so in that sense the film was hilarious in the many awkward and uncommon situations that were portrayed. I would recommend this film to fans of foreign-comedies/relationship comedies who do not hold strong moral prejudices against subversive topics.