Girl (2018)

A promising teenage dancer enrolls at a prestigious ballet school while grappling with her gender dysphoria.

Director:

Lukas Dhont

Writers:

Lukas Dhont (screenplay), Angelo Tijssens (screenplay)

Stars:

Victor Polster, Arieh Worthalter, Oliver Bodart

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 32 wins & 39 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Victor Polster	...	Lara
Arieh Worthalter	...	Mathias
Oliver Bodart	...	Milo
Tijmen Govaerts	...	Lewis
Katelijne Damen	...	Le docteur Naert - le médecin
Valentijn Dhaenens	...	Le docteur Pascal - le psychiatre
Magali Elali	...	Christine
Alice de Broqueville	...	Lois
Alain Honorez	...	Alain
Chris Thys	...	Hannah
Angelo Tijssens	...	Hendricks
Marie-Louise Wilderijckx	...	Marie-Louise
Virginia Hendricksen	...	Alain's Assistant
Daniel Nicodème	...	Opa
Els Olaerts	...	Oma

Storyline

Determined 15-year-old Lara is committed to becoming a professional ballerina. With the support of her father, she throws herself into this quest for the absolute at a new school. Lara's adolescent frustrations and impatience are heightened as she realizes her body does not bend so easily to the strict discipline because she was born a boy.

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Plot Keywords:

gender identity | gender reassignment | gender transition | transsexual | transsexuality | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexual content, graphic nudity and brief disturbing content

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

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Crazy Credits

The movie's title is not shown until the start of the end credits.

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Connections

Featured in The 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards 2019 (2019)

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Soundtracks

Tomboy
Performed by Princess Nokia

User Reviews

Good, not Great

First things first: I really enjoyed the movie. Do I think its great? No. But I actually thought the ongoing ballet metaphor (and all the discipline and equilibrium that is involved in classical training) was powerful in showing the development of an "unbalanced" psyche that is trying desperately to cling on to whatever "normal" it can construct. Although certainly repetitive I thought it was inspired,, rather than boring. I also appreciated the non-preachy nature of most of the film, thus I rated it how I rated it. Having now read some of the reviews, I do understand possible objections to the depiction of the characters transition, and how it is shown. But, as in other instances with many other films for many different reasons, I don't know enough to judge. I will be more aware in the future, so for me both film and reviews were very useful.

Details

Official Sites:

Diaphana Films [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

Netherlands Belgium

Language:

French Flemish English

Release Date:

15 March 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

Girl

Filming Locations:

Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Box Office

Budget:

EUR1,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,178,992

Company Credits

Production Co:

Menuet Producties, Frakas Productions, Topkapi Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1