Tomboy (2011)

A family moves into a new neighborhood, and a 10-year-old named Laure deliberately presents as a boy named Mikhael to the neighborhood children.

Director:

Céline Sciamma

Writer:

Céline Sciamma (screenplay)

Stars:

Zoé Héran, Malonn Lévana, Jeanne Disson

10 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Zoé Héran	...	Laure / Mickäel
Malonn Lévana	...	Jeanne
Jeanne Disson	...	Lisa
Sophie Cattani	...	La mère de Laure
Mathieu Demy	...	Le père de Laure
Rayan Boubekri	...	Rayan
Yohan Vero	...	Vince
Noah Vero	...	Noah
Cheyenne Lainé	...	Cheyenne
Christel Baras	...	La mère de Lisa
Valérie Roucher	...	La mère de Rayan

Storyline

A family moves into a new neighborhood, and a 10-year-old born Laure deliberately presents as a boy named Mickäel to the neighborhood children. It is heavily implied that Mickäel is a closeted transgender boy. This film follows his experiences with his newfound friends, his potential love interest, Lisa, his younger sister and his parents. It focuses in on the significance of gender identity in social interaction from an early age, the difficulties of being transgender and young, and how Mickäel navigates these in the background of childhood play and love.

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Plot Keywords:

soccer | tomboy | makeup | looking at oneself in a mirror | false name | 

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Taglines:

There's a new kid in town.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene, so delicate, of the nakedness of Laure and the revelation resulting from it, has been conscientiously put in place by Céline Sciamma. This scene is fundamental and Zoé Héran, from the script, knew she would have to shoot naked. Her parents were present at the time of filming and this intense moment could only exist in the image if they gave their agreement in view of the filmed sequence.

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Goofs

After the fight over the attack on Jeanne - which Laure wins, we see Laure attentively dressing the graze on Jeanne's knee, and adding a blue-coloured sticking plaster (Band-Aid). In the next scene, when (the un-named) mother finds out that Laure has been passing herself off as a boy, she demands that Laure wear a dress, when they both go to the neighbour to apologise. Laure is sitting on the bed with Jeanne, but all traces of Jeanne's knee injury, and even the sticking plaster, have disappeared.

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Quotes

La mère de Lisa: Lisa?
Lisa: Yes?
La mère de Lisa: Come here. This is Mickäel's mum. She's come here to say Mickäel is not actually Mickäel but a girl, not a boy. She's waiting for you in the kitchen.

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Connections

Featured in Récit de soi (2018)

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Soundtracks

Always
Written by Jean-Baptiste de Laubier and Jerôme Echenoz
Published by Because Editions/Copyright Control


& © 2011 Para one & Tacteel

User Reviews

Believable and well shot, but leaves an uneasy emptiness

I watched this movie a few months ago, and I still think about it occasionally, so it did leave a mark for sure. It does have a lot going for it - very convincing performances by the child actors, fine cinematography, and an intriguing story line. That said, I am somewhat disappointed at how the movie treats the subject matter, perpetuating the "boys will be boys" and "girls will be girls" stereotypes. I understand that plenty of truth to the stereotypes, and it doesn't do any good to that things such as homophobia, transphobia, queerphobia and sexism do not exist, but for a movie that deals with the touchy subject of gender to be worthwhile, I feel it should view these issues with at least somewhat of a critical lens, and not merely paint the picture of "this is how things are" and leave it at that. "How things are" I see in real life and live in my own childhood. So, while not a bad movie by any stretch, it did feel sort of unresolved. And sad.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Twitter

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

20 April 2011 (France)

Also Known As:

Tomboy

Filming Locations:

Seine-et-Marne, France

Box Office

Budget:

EUR1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,078, 20 November 2011

Gross USA:

$129,834

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,437,501

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hold Up Films, Arte France Cinéma, Lilies Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1