"Ludovic is a transgender girl who is coming out", reads one of the reviews for the 1997 French film Ma Vie en Rose (My Life in Pink). This is a movie which addresses gender and transgender issues through the eyes of a young boy called Ludovic.
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| Young Ludovic during a cross dreaming moment |
Young Ludo thinks nothing of dressing up in his sister's clothes and presenting himself at his parents house warming party in front of all their new neighbours. This results in a number of sidelong glances and gossip towards Ludo and the rest of his family. Ludo's innocence of the adult world allows him to express himself naturally until the external pressure becomes too much and he is told to suppress these feelings.
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| Ludovic (left) with his shamed family |
The film is a heart warming story, if you're trans yourself you'll become quite emotional during some of the scenes. My only criticism is that the reactions of characters in Ludo's life is a little overdone. A boy dressing up in girls clothes would not result in the family losing their income, home and being shamed by everyone around them. However this is a story about peoples prejudice and you have to add something like this otherwise there would be no story, so I forgive the script writer.
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| Ludovico with his Granny and Mother |
One of the important characters is Ludo's grandmother, who recognises the young boy's girlish manner. There is a great scene when young Ludo dances in an effeminate manner which is clearly noticed by granny, so as not to embarrass him she joins in. Granny had not seen Ludo in some time and she comments to him about how much he has changed. Ludo's granny is the only character who accepts Ludo for what he is.
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| Young Ludo Dancing With Granny |
Ludo's mother becomes desperate to put a stop to his girlish ways, as she thinks that her son is a threat to their social existence in their middle class community. The scene where his mum forces him to have his hair cut will bring tears to your eyes.
There are a number of cross dreaming fantasy sequences where Ludo is transported into fairy tale fantasy world where he is dressed as a girl with his fantasy female friend, from his favourite television programme.
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| Ludo During a Crossdreaming Moment |
Ludo confesses he will marry his best male friend at school, who also happens to be the son of the boss of Ludo's father. As a result of this his father looses his job and they have to move away from the respectable middle class area. Moving to a new house in a poorer area Ludo is reminded that it's his fault that they had to move, and that he must put a stop to any girly expression once and for all.
Whilst out playing in his new neighbourhood Ludo makes a new male friend, at least Ludo thinks he is a boy until it's revealed that he is actually a female tomboy. They become good friends but make the mistake of swapping clothes at the tomboy's party. I won't say how it ends as I'm trying to encourage you to watch the full movie yourself. This really is a great movie The film is easy to obtain on DVD from most outlets and is well worth the money. Here is the trailer:
