Close.Heavy-handed and voyeuristic, Lukas Dhont’s first film, Girl (2018), deserved its share of backlash. Following the travails of a teenage transgender ballet dancer—played by cis-male actor Victor Polster, one of many controversial choices—Girl approaches its heroine with apparent empathy, but ultimately conflates trans identity with relentless physical and psychological carnage. “What could have been a thoughtful exploration of a difficult part of a trans girl’s daily life,” writes Hollywood Reporter critic Oliver Whitney, “instead uses her body as a site of trauma, inviting the audience to react with disgust.” Hyperbolizing the challenges of gender transition, a process that is by definition already dramatic, Girl exposes the dangers of representation from a vantage of ignorance. The film climaxes with a scene of self-castration via scissors—an unlikely act, not to mention a heedlessly cruel one. Five years later, Dhont’s second feature, Close (2022), averts these issues, in...
- 5/22/2023
- MUBI
In 2022, nightlife, theatre and music festivals came back across Australia, but wild weather and Covid-19 made for a bumpy landing. The year also delivered a dazzling array of film, prestige TV (including an Australian-made international hit) and a series of awards show fiascos.
Guardian Australia’s culture editor Steph Harmon and culture editorial assistant Michael Sun dive into the year in culture and the arts, and discuss the most exciting things coming up in 2023
Some articles mentioned in this episode:...
Guardian Australia’s culture editor Steph Harmon and culture editorial assistant Michael Sun dive into the year in culture and the arts, and discuss the most exciting things coming up in 2023
Some articles mentioned in this episode:...
- 12/19/2022
- by Presented by Michael Sun, Steph Harmonand Laura Murphy-Oates; produced by Karishma Luthria and Joe Koningwho also did the sound design and mixing; the executive producer of this episode was Laura Murphy-Oates
- The Guardian - Film News
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