Chair tendre

After an incident, Sasha(Metzger, delivering an incredible, subtle performance) and her entire family move, determined to keep the secret that she was born intersex.

Rather than fetishizing, sensationalizing or pathologizing, the show treats this delicate subject matter with great sensitivity. It is essentially a coming of age teen love story where the protagonist it's centered on happens to be gender non-conforming. We see how the different family members react to finding out, what they do to help and how sometimes good intentions do not lead to positive results, and this can even be a way for audiences to learn more about this group of people and how to be there for them.

The casting, acting, writing and direction really bring the characters to life. Everyone feels like someone that would exist in the real world. There's a lot of shoulder cam. Frequently the focus will be on faces, little reactions, some negative to the words and actions of others. The editing will sometimes jump chronologically and there are a lot of flashbacks, many of them mere moments long, underlining the trauma, how inescapable it is, how many things bring these memories to the forefront. The 10 episodes are all between 21 and 27 minutes in running time, determined by what will best serve them. You could easily binge this in a single sitting. This is currently on Disney Plus, unless you password protect. It is entirely in French but subtitled into other languages.

This features a lot of exploration(mostly verbal) of sexuality(and yes, like other French media, it does sadly go at least a little too far with people not yet of age), strong language, and a little drug content. I recommend it to everyone old enough to handle it, so 18+. 8/10.

Let me tell you something.

I'm not one to cry - really cry(not that I'm against it, just physically it rarely comes out) - from a show or a movie. I do shed an occasional tear from ones that hit hard and good. But I haven't cried from a show(/movie) in years, and this one hit me REALLY hard, but for so many good reasons!

First of all I want to say that one of the best moments of the show of not THE BEST, and perhaps evn one that's single handedly worth the watch dare I say, is Sasha's truly remarkably honest and brutally poignant monologue ending episode 9.

Now that I've let that out, let me tell you that though this show has a few drawbacks, I can without a doubt say that the highlights easily outnumber them.

The soundtrack - LOVED it. The lofi synthesizer is so up my ally and it just felt right in this show with the new life in small town, life questioning, teen drama vibes.

The acting - really solid all around. Especially Angèle Metzger(Sasha) and Saul Benchetrit(Paulin) who were the real standouts with their distinct yet clearly interconnected arcs, but also Anna(Paola Locatelli), the rest of the gang and the parents.

The writing - also really good all in all. Did I appreciate every decision each of the charachters made? Hell no. I found myself annoyed and at times even dumbfounded by how they acted. Some of their actions were awful, some were heartwarming, some were dumb, and there's a whole lot of toxicity that's clearly rooted in personal traumas and/or mental struggles. But in the bigger picture point of view, at some point the motives become clear(er) and most of it feels real becuase they had intentions that are so innocent, or slefish or selfless - motives that are humanely relatabe in one way or another. So I didn't have to decide whether I agree with it because I was given the look behind the curtains of the character's psyche that I needed to just understand that yeah it kinda makes sense that they did that. There are some actions that are left a bit confusing but the use of flachbacks , the camera work and editing relly did a good job connecting the pieces , slowly but surely. On the downside I do feel like I'm missed more from Alex and Anna and the parents which all made me wnt to get to know them more.

The show is 10 episodes, ranging from 18 to 27 each, which actually relly helped me take it in becuse they all have their weight, and the cuts - with great choice for ending and opening scenes - are a great way to pace yourself as a viewer experiencing this complex journey with Sasha and the rest of the cast. I binged it in 2 days which had a good balance for me..

I'm SO glad this incredibly important and dissapointingly culturally "fresh" topic got such a moving portrail and I urge you to watch it an talk about it in your circles, because we need MORE of this on the screen.