Sexuality in the suburbs
Ma Vie En Rose
Starring Georges Du Fresne
Directed by Alain Berliner
Screening nationally from February 19
Review by Tamie Meem and Conrad Barrett
Ludo just wants to grow up, get married and live in a big pink house with her husband, just like the people on TV. The problem is he was born the wrong sex.
Ma Vie En Rose traces the trials and traumas of a boy, Ludovic, who desperately wants to be a girl. He struggles with gender and sexual identity in a conservative neighbourhood and a family which doesn't understand. It's the age-old story of sidelong glances, disapproving neighbours, gossip and being ashamed of what is different.
The film opens with a welcoming party for Ludo's family which is marred by Ludo's appearance in a pink dress, make-up and headband. His family nervously encourage everybody to laugh it off and send Ludovic inside to change.
As time passes and Ludovic's femininity is shown to be integral to his identity, the neighbours stop laughing and become hostile. The film subtly depicts the change from acceptance to banishment that the entire family experiences as a result of their neighbours' ignorance and prejudice regarding sexual identity.
Ma Vie En Rose depicts the nuclear family as a hindrance rather than help to Ludovic. His family members are more concerned with their social position than supporting Ludovic in public, or encouraging him in private. His parents try everything to put him on a masculine path — threats, psychoanalysis, football, haircuts — but all in vain.
Ludovic's family are delighted when he befriends the boss's son, but when the pair pretend to get married homophobic panic engulfs both families and the repercussions flow on to the work place.
Religion plays a central role in the prejudice against Ludo. Threats of fire and brimstone are used to frighten his friends away and Ludovic's own ideas about how he was born male are a confused mixture of Christian folklore and his sister's vague scientific explanations. He explains: It's "perfectly scientific"; God lost one of his Xs he got stuck with a Y (chromosome) instead. This leads to a determined faith that God will set everything right by making him a girl.
Ludo's seeks comfort by escaping into daydreams about being a girl in the world of his favourite TV characters, Pam and Ben. In these vivid segments, created in dazzling colour, Ludo dances and flies through the pink glittery suburbs with Pam in a princess dress blowing magic dust through his fingertips.
These surreal images are a wonderful way for the audience to gain insight into — and empathise with — Ludo's character. However, towards the end of the film, Ludovic's fantasies start to become reality, allowing a "feel good" finish to what is otherwise a disturbing and provocative film.
This ending, while providing a strong narrative closure, diffused the issues in the film with a too-easy solution which had no relation to reality. Director Alain Berliner said, "In making this film we were not concerned with Ludovic's future".
When dealing with such a crucial social issue, film-makers need to be able to look forward, rather than resolve things into a neat bundle. Ludovic's problems would probably expand as his life went on.
The film advocates the notion that gender is subjective, even if sex isn't. It also attempts to show that sexuality is not something one chooses; it simply exists as part one's character. The innocence of youth is used to illustrate this point very effectively.
The reaction of the local community illustrates the extent to which sexuality is still repressed today, despite the gains of the gay and lesbian movement. Ludo's desire is treated as a mental illness by his family, who find their love for him challenged by the condemnation and isolation he brings on the family. The film's treatment of these themes is, overall, sensitive and empathic.
Georges Du Fresne portrays the endearing character of Ludovic with great subtlety and sensitivity.
Colour is used wonderfully in the film, with bright colours in the early, happy days and increasingly sombre hues as the film goes on. Ludovic's daydreams are drenched in Wizard of Oz-style Technicolor.
Clever editing is used to create the intensity of a close-knit neighbourhood with abrupt cuts between different families in domestic situations.
Though not a "great" film, Ma Vie En Rose is definitely worth a look for its accomplished performances, imaginative techniques and depiction of a topic that doesn't get a lot of film exposure.