Alex Davidson praises this brave and compelling film.
“Courageous” is a much-abused word in film reviews, used to cover anything that vaguely takes issues such as race or sexuality seriously, but Lucía Puenzo’s sensitive debut fully merits the description. It starts as a typical coming-of-age story, as a teenage boy (Martín Piroyansky) strikes up a rapport with Alex (Inés Efron), which gradually turns passionate. A jealous friend reveals Alex’s secret - that she is a hermaphrodite - and so begins a complex and riveting study of sexuality, prejudice and sense of self.
This may sound worthy, but it is anything but dull, with a compelling central performance from Efron, who plays Alex as an exciting, challenging youth rather than simply a confused adolescent dealing with a rare condition. Compare this with the adults, who dither about the “problem”, or the town bullies who regard Alex as a freak. With echoes of Boys Don’t Cry (although less distressing in tone), this is a mature and daring film - Efron’s last scene with Piroyansky could have seemed ridiculous rather than moving - and deservedly gathered dozens of awards during its festival run last year.
Drama from first-time Argentinian director Lucia Puenzo. Alex (Ines Efron) is a 15-year old with genital ambiguity. Her family have moved to a relatively uninhabited, remote island in an effort to keep her out of trouble, but when the first boy who takes a liking to her discovers her secret, he ends up with a broken nose. Then, to the disquiet of her embarrassed parents, she quits the medication that keeps her mostly female. At her wit's end, Alex's mother Suli invites old family friend, plastic surgeon Ramiro, and his teenage son Alvaro to spend a weekend on the island to talk about the 'normalisation' operation that would define Alex forever as either girl or boy. As the adults wrestle with the dilemmas that will arise when Alex reaches adulthood, Alex and Alvaro begin to develop strong feelings for each other...
Salò
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