Tomboy
2011 Directed by Céline Sciamma
Synopsis
A French family with two daughters, 10-year-old Laure and 6-year-old Jeanne, moves to a new neighborhood during the summer holidays. With her tomboy ways, Laure is immediately mistaken for a boy by the local kids and passes herself off as Michael.
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Tomboy is a French coming-of-age drama from Water Lilies director, Célina Sciamma, about a young girl pretending to be a boy. Whilst the film naturally raises questions about gender and sexuality it is less interested in finding answers and more in documenting the problems that arise from such lies (first love, going swimming, toilet issues etc.) particularly when the lies begin to escalate. It is a slight but perfectly formed feature, small in scale but sweet and intimate. The film was shot over a short summer period and the film is bathed in perpetual sunlight evoking memories of the endless summers of childhood. Although the story could have leant itself to a more sensationalist style, Tomboy is pleasingly grounded in a familiar reality. The characters are all totally believable and the natural performances are pitch perfect.
Endearing, touching and beautifully judged.
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In Tomboy, Céline Sciamma directs a simple story of a young girl’s delicate passage to adolescence with grace and gentleness. Its plot tackles the theme of gender identity and its complexity without being too didactic. Relationships between characters grow out organically and no sudden epiphanies ever occur thanks to the matter-of-fact tone. This is a serene film of a child’s self-discovery of sexuality that I enjoyed very much so.
The playful title card (which bears a striking resemblance to Pierrot Le Fou by the way) establishes the story’s prevalent color juxtaposition between blue and red that symbolizes gender ambiguity. This clever masculine/feminine palette motif is peppered throughout, appearing in clothing and even in the background. The film’s focus is on…
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A quiet examination of the intricacy of gender as seen through the eyes of a child, Tomboy stars a magnificent Zoé Héran as the young girl who decides to assume the name Mikael and present herself as a boy to the kids of her new neighbourhood. Writer/director Céline Sciamma, whose 2007 film Water Lilies was just as powerful and affecting a treatise on sexual identity, manages with her youthful protagonist to simplify the issue as a basis from which to explore its potent social complexity. The gender divides which appear so early in life are scrutinised against the backdrop of childhood gaiety and merriment, contrasting the free innocence of young life with the iron-cast constraints of adult society. It’s impossible not to be taken in by the magic of Mikael’s budding romance with the sweet Lisa, nor to nervously watch as the façade inevitably crumbles. As sweetly charming as it is astutely political, Tomboy is a beautiful piece of filmmaking.
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J'aime toujours voir des enfants jouer et ceux-ci sont exceptionnellement bons. Toutes les relations et les dialogues, entre les soeurs surtout, sont très réussis. Le film est crédible et va jusqu'au bout.
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A young girl pretends to have a cock.
Some pretty amazing acting from the youngsters in the film, real real, like.
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What a really good film this is. Clever take on coming of age piece. Light and romantic charm but with a thought provoking interrogation of the considered social norms of childhood and adolescence.
Beware the green plasticine!
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Another masterpiece from France. It talks by itself.
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La maduración puede llegar a los 11 años, grandes actuaciones de los niños.
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In Tomboy, Céline Sciamma directs a simple story of a young girl’s delicate passage to adolescence with grace and gentleness. Its plot tackles the theme of gender identity and its complexity without being too didactic. Relationships between characters grow out organically and no sudden epiphanies ever occur thanks to the matter-of-fact tone. This is a serene film of a child’s self-discovery of sexuality that I enjoyed very much so.
The playful title card (which bears a striking resemblance to Pierrot Le Fou by the way) establishes the story’s prevalent color juxtaposition between blue and red that symbolizes gender ambiguity. This clever masculine/feminine palette motif is peppered throughout, appearing in clothing and even in the background. The film’s focus is on…
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Celine Sciamma created a great debut film with Water Lilies, and with her sophomore feature, she has proven to be a masterful writer and director tackling the sexual struggles of female adolescence.
Tomboy tells the story of a girl, who, while at home with her family, is known as Laure, but out with her friends, she is Mikael. The beauty of this picture is the ambiguity of everything, not just Laure's looks. It is a wonderfully written story, that by the end of the film, will leave a smile on your face just like the one on Laure's, even if getting there is a bit sad.
The movie features some of the best child performances I've ever seen. Laure is…
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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A young girl who is a tomboy at heart moves to her mothers house in the summer holidays before school starts and much to her enthusiasm of getting mistaken as a boy by the Tomboy of the group of lads shew meets, goes with it and spends away her days getting close to this group and indeed the girl, living as a boy, this is a solid film and a honest film with strong performances bringing it through from the very young cast, and at times daring, which does indeed make the viewer uncomfortable at times due to its nature, but the film certainly warrants it all, the story plays out and come final credits much heartfelt emotions are drwan to the charactor.
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Apparently, boys really don't cry. It's kind of weird to see what is basically the Brandon Teena story reenacted with prepubescent children and given a happy ending. Even weirder, I actually felt more nervous for this child than I did for Teena; the cost of discovery is merely humiliation, rather than rape and murder, but both the impressionable age and the sheer likeability of the character had me in a state of nervous tension throughout every scene in which she interacts with other children (particularly during a risky swimming session). Zoe Heran is superb in the lead role, exhibiting an instinct for subtlety and nuance that many adult actors lack. However, the film seems oddly content with a superficial treatment…
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The film feels authentic about a little girl who wants to be seen as a boy. So many scenes are unbearably painful because they ring true.
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Coming-of-age stories are hard to pull off without resorting to oft-used cliches, which is why I think Tomboy kind of blows most of them out of the water. Focusing on adolescent identity and exploration, this film pulls you close with astonishing performances and intimate camerawork.
Director Celine Sciamma searched for unknowns for the kids' roles because she wanted the movie to feel as genuine as possible -- and it does. Each one delivers such naturalness to the screen that it almost feels like you're spying on something private.
10-year-old Laure (Zoe Heran) sports a short haircut and prefers to wear boy's shirts and tees, rather than girly dresses and lacy skirts. New to the neighborhood, when Laure meets the local…