Sasha-13

Great film, great cast. But if you are the type who has to be hit over the head with a complex plot, and can only enjoy extremely deep characters, stay home. This film works its wonders through the quirkiness of its characters and their interactions. They are amusing but not terribly angst ridden or complex. Once in a while its nice to go to a film where the roles played don't all resemble pages in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic manual.

I've always loved Vonnegut because his books probe issues most people don't much like to think about. This film begins with an American who is beautifully and passionately in love. It ends with him broken by an ill-considered agreement that many would call noble, even heroic. What part does anticipation have in avoiding blame? Is simply being too distracted by love or duty to see the full impact of something an excuse? Is there ever an end to personal responsibility?

Ma Vie en Rose is a story about the innocence of childhood as told through the experiences of a seven year old boy, Ludovic. Ludovic desperately wants to be a girl and everything about him says that he already is one. Today science feels the brain is sexed before birth...and not always correctly...Ludovic is a prime example of a female brain in a male body and he is putting up a valiant struggle not to be erased as a person.

While it's easy to heap ugly words on an adult, looking into the loving, imaginative eyes of a child like Ludovic brings home the real tragedy of gender bigotry. There are so many wonderful traits in Ludo but all anyone can see is what he isn't. I wondered what would be left of a real Ludovic when he grew up? This movie makes you wonder about a lot of things but without being heavy handed about it. I'm sorry the story is in French (subtitled) and therefore inaccessible to so many. Maybe someone will make an English version of it for TV. It's a great film for anyone who values childhood or feels they had part of themselves taken from them there.

This film is about a triple homicide. One of the victims and the main target of the "execution" was a young woman who felt she had been born the wrong sex. He called himself Brandon.

While the cinematography isn't great, this film does justice to a disturbing subject, the bigotry and hate that thrives in too many small towns. But this isn't just any small town and the people Brandon associated with weren't the type of educated individuals who would be likely to understand and accept someone like Brandon.

This movie immerses you in a world of truly scary people. Hate, and ignorance abound. You don't have to be gay or transgendered to feel unsafe with the folks in this film; being middle class will do it. This touches on another even more disturbing subject. Why do some gay and transgendered people take chances with all the wrong people? Strangers aren't a real safe bet for anyone, especially someone who is different in some way. The people in this film aren't the understanding college educated types. For the most part they are people from the very bottom of America's social strata. When you look at Brandon, you have to wonder why he chose to befriend the people who killed him in the first place. The two men were acknowledged low-lifes and ex-cons. He could not have put himself more in harms way if he had tried. Brandon, in spite of his problems with petty crime, was apparently a very sweet, though simple person who seemed unable to accept that his inner male being was not reality. The film portrays him as a romantic who stole through forgery in order to buy flowers and gifts for the people he loved. Even in the sound clips we hear of his voice, he was extremely passive. He was calm even as he discussed the rape that preceded his murder. Why didn't this gentle person see the danger? Why didn't he assume it? Perhaps Gay and transgendered people don't have to be totally paranoid to survive, but certainly they need to be at least as careful as the average African American would be when confronted with a car full of red necks.

I seldom walk out of movies. I saw this one at a pre-release screening and was tempted to leave after the first 30 minutes went nowhere. I should have left. It was the worst movie I've seen in several years. The beginning was confusing and every time the plot should have taken a turn mindless music played and absolutely nothing happened. Don't waste you money.

I seldom walk out of movies. I saw this one at a pre-release screening and was tempted to leave after the first 30 minutes went nowhere. I should have left. It was the worst movie I've seen in several years. The beginning was confusing and every time the plot should have taken a turn mindless music played and absolutely nothing happened. Don't waste you money.