Our take
Girl won four awards at the Cannes Film Festival last year and was nominated to 9 Magritte Awards. It was also Belgium’s entry to the Oscar for best foreign-language film. When a dance school accepts her, Lara has the opportunity to realize her dream and become a professional ballerina. The dancing takes a toll on her body, but her biggest obstacle is that she was born into the body of a boy. Girl illustrates the trans teenage experience with sensitivity, slowly and humanly making Lara’s anguish become the viewer’s. Based on a true story.
The story
A promising teenage dancer enrolls at a prestigious ballet school while grappling with her gender dysphoria.
Elsewhere
"A film which reminds us that nuance and representation matters."
— David Jenkins
"This film makes a gentle point of the fact that transitioning isn't trouble-free even if most of the people around you are broadly sympathetic to the undertaking."
— Hannah McGill
The details
Who picked it
Bilal Zouheir is the founder of A Good Movie to Watch. He is based in the US and a member of the Nevada Film Critics Society. He grew up in Morocco, where he learned English from watching movies. Bilal's work with A Good Movie to Watch is focused on offering an alternative to streaming algorithms, which are often used as commercial tools by streaming services.
Hard to watch at times but respectful to the issues addressed by this film.
This movie should be regarded as a must-see for cisgender individuals who would like to have a window into the world trans folks have to struggle for even the most basic, most personal rights and freedoms. I usually am dismayed when a trans individual, especially an adult is not portrayed accurately in a movie/television series, which often is the case but even with a few flaws, this film does not feel unrealistic and does not sugarcoat the essence. It is not really heavy in dialogues and gives the viewer enough opportunity to observe and just ingest the material and ask questions, start wondering. Worth the time.