Pride Month Movie - Day Fourteen: XXY

XXY (2007)

Directed by Lucía Puenzo

Screenplay by Lucía Puenzo

Based on the short story, "Cinismo" by Sergio Bizzio

Stars: Inés Efron, Ricardo Darín, Valeria Bertuccelli, Martín Piroyansky, Germán Palacios, and Carolina Pelleritti

When I was compiling my list of movies to see this month, I wanted to watch one dealing the subject of intersex. There are not that many movies about it. I wished I would have like this one.

Alex (Efron) is a teenager struggling with bodies issues. A surgeon, Ramiro (Palacios) and his family stay with Alex's family home to try to convince everyone to have Alex has gender reassignment surgery.

This movie is depressing. For real. I understand that the subject matter is heavy. It has been treated delicately. I feel as though the filmmakers turned Alex into a sideshow freak. Everyone is so concerned about what's between Alex's legs. Who cares?

This movie made me very uncomfortable for everyone involved. I was checked out of the movie when a certain action happened on the beach. Let's say that. I was thinking, "Why do we have to see Alex's tits all the time?" "What's up with Alvaro's (Piroyansky) under bite?" "Should a parent see a topless female presenting person in the same room?"

What was the point of the movie? I don't now.

Rating: 1/10

La mujer sin cabeza

The Headless Woman (2009)

Written and directed by Lucretia Martel

Stars: María Onetto, Claudia Cantero, César Bordón, Daniel Genoud, Guillermo Arengo, Inés Efron and María Vaner

I know that you guys thought that I was thinking another "vacation" from viewing movie, but I had some personal problems that I had to deal with. I hope you understand. Back to the reviewing.

I have always wanted to watch Lucretia Martel's The Headless Woman for a couple of years since I saw the high Metacritic score of 81. I always mistaken this movie for An Unmarried Woman from 1978 with Jill Clayburgh and Alan Bates, which I haven't seen. Maybe one day.

The movie is very subtle in the way that the story is told. A affluent dentist named Vero (Onetto) is distracted on a deserted road and runs over something. She doesn't stop to see what she hits. She drives on. In the days after the ordeal, she is in a haze. Vero is guilt-ridden that she might have a killed a person. Her family thinks that she has simply run over a stray dog. The notion of what she might have done weighs heavily on Vero's conscience.

This is a slow burn kind of movie. You are not spoon fed what exactly is happening with the story. I believe that Martel wanted to leave the story open for interpretation as to whether Vero committed a hit and run or it was all in her mind.

I believe I know what really happened and a couple of critic agree with me. This film is not for everyone. There are those that will get bored and those that will not get it entirely. That's fine. I think that it is a fine piece of work that I crave for instead of the remakes, sequels, prequels that are clogging up cinemas now. I long for a movie like this.

My rating: