NEW YORK -- A whimsical Belgian comedy about a 7-year-old cross-dresser would hardly seem a candidate for breakout potential, but that's what Sony Pictures Classics is banking on with its acquisition of Alain Berliner's film, shown in the Director's Fortnight at Cannes and now being showcased at the New York Film Festival. The funny thing is, they may be right.
"Ma Vie en Rose" tells the story of Ludovic, a gentle, wide-eyed young boy who wants nothing more in life than to wear high heels, a skirt, and makeup. Believing himself to be a "girlboy," he has no compunction about indulging his desires; his parents, naturally, are horrified, particularly when he makes a dramatic appearance in front of their friends and neighbors.
They try to laugh it off as a child's joke, but Ludovic's persistence in his tendencies finally forces them to take action. Pierre, Ludovic's outraged father, tries severe discipline, to no avail; a family visit to a friendly therapist is equally unsuccessful. Ludovic, for his part, tries to correct himself, especially when a friend moves his desk away from him at school, claiming that unless he doesn't he's "going to hell." For a while, Ludovic walks around playing cowboy and grabbing his crotch, but it doesn't work; he even resorts to locking a young female classmate in the bathroom so he can take over her role in the school production of "Snow White". As the parents' frustration grows, the young boy's increasingly public problem becomes indirectly responsible for the father's loss of his job.
The story is told using a variety of theatrical techniques, including a landscape of visually audacious, bright colors and a series of sequences depicting Ludovic's fantasy figure, a sort of combination of Tinker Bell and Barbie. Although some of these segments are more successful than others (particularly amusing is the depiction of Ludovic's explanation for how he came to be this way, involving God's misplacement of a chromosome), the film manages to blend witty, fantastical humor and social realism in an adroit and skillful manner. The assured screenplay and direction takes a subject that would have been ridiculous or offensive in lesser hands and actually makes it work, even if the ending is a little too optimistic for the film's own good.
The performances, too, are highly impressive. As Ludovic's frustrated parents, Michele Laroque and Jean-Philippe Ecoffey beautifully convey both their characters' angry chagrin and their deep love for their son. And the beautifully cast newcomer Georges Du Fresne is a marvel as Ludovic, giving a performance that will make you laugh even as it breaks your heart.
MA VIE EN ROSE
Sony Pictures Classics
Director Alain Berliner
Screenplay Chris Vander Stappen,
Alain Berliner
Producer Carole Scotta
Director of photography Yves Cape
Editor Sandrine Deegen
Music Dominique Dalcan
Color/stereo
Cast:
Ludovic Georges du Fresne
Hanna Michele Laroque
Pierre Jean-Philippe Ecoffey
Elisabeth Helene Vincent
Jerome Julien Riviere
Running time - 88 minutes
No MPAA rating...
"Ma Vie en Rose" tells the story of Ludovic, a gentle, wide-eyed young boy who wants nothing more in life than to wear high heels, a skirt, and makeup. Believing himself to be a "girlboy," he has no compunction about indulging his desires; his parents, naturally, are horrified, particularly when he makes a dramatic appearance in front of their friends and neighbors.
They try to laugh it off as a child's joke, but Ludovic's persistence in his tendencies finally forces them to take action. Pierre, Ludovic's outraged father, tries severe discipline, to no avail; a family visit to a friendly therapist is equally unsuccessful. Ludovic, for his part, tries to correct himself, especially when a friend moves his desk away from him at school, claiming that unless he doesn't he's "going to hell." For a while, Ludovic walks around playing cowboy and grabbing his crotch, but it doesn't work; he even resorts to locking a young female classmate in the bathroom so he can take over her role in the school production of "Snow White". As the parents' frustration grows, the young boy's increasingly public problem becomes indirectly responsible for the father's loss of his job.
The story is told using a variety of theatrical techniques, including a landscape of visually audacious, bright colors and a series of sequences depicting Ludovic's fantasy figure, a sort of combination of Tinker Bell and Barbie. Although some of these segments are more successful than others (particularly amusing is the depiction of Ludovic's explanation for how he came to be this way, involving God's misplacement of a chromosome), the film manages to blend witty, fantastical humor and social realism in an adroit and skillful manner. The assured screenplay and direction takes a subject that would have been ridiculous or offensive in lesser hands and actually makes it work, even if the ending is a little too optimistic for the film's own good.
The performances, too, are highly impressive. As Ludovic's frustrated parents, Michele Laroque and Jean-Philippe Ecoffey beautifully convey both their characters' angry chagrin and their deep love for their son. And the beautifully cast newcomer Georges Du Fresne is a marvel as Ludovic, giving a performance that will make you laugh even as it breaks your heart.
MA VIE EN ROSE
Sony Pictures Classics
Director Alain Berliner
Screenplay Chris Vander Stappen,
Alain Berliner
Producer Carole Scotta
Director of photography Yves Cape
Editor Sandrine Deegen
Music Dominique Dalcan
Color/stereo
Cast:
Ludovic Georges du Fresne
Hanna Michele Laroque
Pierre Jean-Philippe Ecoffey
Elisabeth Helene Vincent
Jerome Julien Riviere
Running time - 88 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/3/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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