A quiet, slow, somber reflection on fatherhood, sacrifice, and regret. This is not an action-packed movie by any means, instead preferring to take its time getting to the heart of its characters, peeling back layers one by one to expose the truths beneath.
I watched this movie when I was 12, and brushed it off as a boring 80’s film that didn’t hold my interest. I came back to it 30 years later it at 42, older now, middle aged with more life experience and knowledge of how the world works, and looked at it completely differently.
Everybody in this film carries their weight and then some. Hunter Carson, all of 8 here, is a masterclass in child acting, his boyish innocence and vulnerability leaping off the screen. Harry Dean Stanton (RIP) is excellent; there’s a mystery to him as he wanders out of the desert. You can almost see the pain and regret etched into the lines of his face, and he gives off the air of a grizzled, lost man who has seen and experienced things that have shaken him and caused him to withdraw from the world. The scenes between them, father and son, really are the highlight of the film. Kinski - although her accent slips at times, and despite her shorter screen time - is mesmerizing. The final scene seems to stretch forever, laying it all on the table with devastating honesty.
This movie is alive with the feel of the American south. Ry Cooder’s soundtrack - largely sparse and minimal - echoes over vast spaces, empty landscapes and dusty towns, every scene seemingly washed out and baked by harsh sun. There’s so much visual space in this movie; even Houston, with its skyscrapers and glass, feels like a city out of place, looming out of the dryness. You can almost feel the heat in the air, the loneliness - but amidst it all there’s a nostalgic warmth and a gentleness to it all that shines through. These days, I can never look at old super 8 footage again without thinking of one scene in particular.
This movie, even in 2024, is timeless. The world might have changed since 1984, but these characters and their stories are universal.
(Story spoilers below).
I have a lot to say about Tomboy.
Tomboy is the story of 10 year old Laure, who moves to a new town and begins to present herself as a boy to the group of kids that roam the neighborhood.
The way the movie portrays the complex relationships of children is wonderful. The dialogue is natural and realistic, and anybody who ever spent their childhood days roaming free will relate the way the kids have their own social structure and pecking order that has to be navigated. Zoe Heran is is obviously a highlight, playing Mikael to perfection as he grapples with identity and all the questions and confusion that come with it. Zoe can portray so many complex emotions much with just a look or a glance, and is nothing short of phenomenal.
The film never outright mentions the word transgender, but it’s clear throughout that Mikael is palpably uncomfortable playing the role of a girl (the scenes where he’s forced to wear a dress almost made my skin crawl - again a credit to Zoe Heran’s acting) and feels much more comfortable presenting himself to the world as a boy. He dresses in boyish clothes, has his bedroom painted blue, his hair is cut short and he and has all the mannerisms of a boy down to a fine art.
Mikael gradually earns his place amongst the group of kids, but despite the slow pace and quiet dialogue, there’s a tension throughout. You wonder how long Mikael can keep up the act for, particularly when it comes to the growing feelings of his friend Lisa.
Eventually it all comes crashing down. In the climax of the movie Laure is confronted and slapped by her mother, forced to wear a dress, outed to everyone she knows, alienated from her friends and forced to reveal her vagina to her former friends (ultimately this is sexual assault, and is a particularly hard scene to watch)
Now, I know this is within the realm of experience for transgender youth and I respect the film for not shying away from depicting it. To do so would have been a disservice. But ultimately the ending left me cold. Some have said the ending is left open deliberately and can even be interpreted as somewhat happy, but I just don’t see it. What Mikael went though is enough to scar someone for life, but this isn’t acknowledged at all - instead it seems as is he’s forced to deny all the feelings that pushed him to self-identity as a boy in the first place, and has to retreat back into the safety of the closet to please those around him. There’s no lighter moment after everything he went through, and the film ends with him seemingly back to square one and identifying as Laure, something he’d spend the entire movie trying to avoid.
I understand gender is fluid, especially at the tender age of 10, but I just wonder what young people watching this might take away from it all. That it’s safer to never step outside the rigid confines of gender and just pretend to be something you’re not? To hide your true self away because this is the what the result might be? I certainly hope not, but the film doesn’t exactly have a happy ending for Mikael.
I just don’t really understand what statement Céline Sciamma was trying to make with this movie.
