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MA VIE EN ROSE is a delightful drama from Belgium, about a 7 year- old boy who believes, well, that he's really a girl. Young Ludovic would rather wear lipstick, appear in dresses, and play with a fic- tional equivalent of Barbie and Ken. (In the film's most adorable sequence, he rationalizes that God misplaced a certain chromosome. "It's scientific," he declares.) Needless to say, his family has a different take, as does the suburban (and, oddly, American-looking) community that they've just moved into. Though the storybook colors and fairy-tale fantasy sequences suggest a simpler and more broadly played film, Alain Berliner's Golden Globe-winning effort doesn't pull any punches, either in (a.) its examinations of gender expectations or (b.) showing the cruel confusion that can result when such expectations are not met. Go see it. In French, with English subtitles. (Rated "R"/88 min.) Grade: A Copyright 1998 Michael J. Legeros Movie Hell is a trademark of Michael J. Legeros
Originally posted to triangle.movies as MOVIE HELL: In Brief