Girl (II) (2018) User Reviews

Gutwrenching

[kay_rock · 8/10 · 16 June 2019]

I see a lot of gender prejudice here from folks who demand that others not be so prejudiced about gender. It doesn't matter whether young Victor Poster is cisgendered, transgendered, or androgynous, the performance in this role is nuanced, vulnerable, and entirely believable. I am shocked that people would criticize either Victor's sexuality or gender identification in their evaluation of the film. Victor is not a poster-child... victor is acting. And doing it beautifully.

Others seem concerned that the film oversimplifies a complex issue. But when you are a 15 year old girl in the wrong body, it is kind of simple. It's one girl's story and experience and pain and fear, not a testament to the entire world of being transgendered. You simply cannot try to cover all issues in one person's story. This is not a story about the general "truth" of being transgendered, it is the story, as titled, of a girl. One girl. One girl's experience.

I felt extremely moved by the end. I hope others appreciate this as a film... a story... and not try to judge it as some sort of manifesto or expect something more of it than it should be.

If we want to normalize all human experience, we need to stop demanding more from projects like this than we would of any other story of personal trauma or tragedy. Every person is unique, every person's life is their own and should stand on its own merits rather than being obligated to represent an entire diverse group.

This is true cinematic brilliance

[moveebuff1953 · 8/10 · 16 March 2019]

Girl is the type of movie that will hopefully open your eyes and heart to the little known challenges that face someone caught in the wrong body. I fell in love with Lana almost immediately because of her sensitive, kind, passionate character. She brings you deep into her world of the pain it takes to hide her unwanted features with such elegance and composure. Even when egged on by fellow dancers she holds in her pain in hope of acceptance. Victor Polster is brilliant as the graceful and beautiful Lana. The determination, blood, sweat and tears it takes to be a ballerina is mind boggling but for Lara it is a passion she is not willing to give up on no matter what it takes.

A poignant tale of a young transgender woman that could have benefited from a broader scope.

[Doctor_Mongoose · 7/10 · 6 September 2019]

It is difficult to review this film without referring to the performance and casting of Victor Polster as the Girl the title refers to. Both appear to be quite polarising. There seem to be many reviewers who feel his portrayal was brave, emotive and mature as an adolescent ballet dancer going through a transitionary period in her life in more ways than one: moving to a new school and meeting new people, moving to a different apartment, and, of course, the crux of the film, taking the next step in confirming her gender identity by taking hormones with a view to having gender reassignment surgery in the future. There also appear to be many people, mostly people who identify as either transgender themselves or part of the wider LGBT+ community, who think that the performance and casting is offensive and lacks the nuance that only a real-life transgender actor could bring to the role. Personally, I cannot believe I watched the same film as anyone who thinks that his performance was anything less than exceptional.

Ballet as an art-form creates beauty out of pain, patience and practice, and Lara's journey to become a better dancer runs in parallel with her journey to physically become the woman she believes she is. The routine physical exhaustion and bleeding toes she experiences whilst dancing provide a visceral contrast with the emotional challenges of day-to-day living she has to face, such as showering or going to the toilet, whilst living in a body that just doesn't fit. Victor Polster manages to convey these experiences and emotions, showing an intense determination and underlying vulnerability that never spills over into melodrama. The question of whether or not he should have been cast in the role in the first place is moot as it is evident that he was up to the task. Morally I do not see any reason why a non-trans actor cannot play a trans role if they have the ability to do so, in the same way that an actor does not need to have kids to play the role of a father or mother. I believe that he got the role on merit, in the same way that Daniela Vega got the lead role in A Fantastic Woman, because they were the best person for the job.

Where the film falls slightly flat, however, is that there are no other fully fleshed out characters apart from Lara, and although the film focuses around Lara's pain and experiences in the here and now, there isn't always a clear motivation for her actions. It isn't even clear why she is so keen on becoming a dancer in the first place. I'd like to have seen more of the father and younger brother and how their lives were affected by Lara's situation.

Ultimately it is a painful portrait of a young woman fighting to be who she wants to be that could have benefited from widening the scope and delving into the lives of other characters more in order to give more weight to the situations Lara found herself in. I also feel that the ending, although earned and wincingly effective from an emotional standpoint, didn't provide much closure and left the film feeling unresolved. Having said that, I have a suspicion that this was intentional as stories such as these do not have a cut-off point where the transformation is complete and the only resolution is the acceptance that there is none and that the fight must go on.

Definitely would recommend it.

An Emotionally Devastating Coming-of-Age Tale

[roblesar99 · 7/10 · 26 September 2018]

Emotionally devastating yet reassuringly empathetic, director Lukas Dhont's GIRL tells the story of transgender ballerina Lara as she seeks to complete her transition while struggling to achieve her dreams. Make no mistake, this is a tough film to watch (as exemplified by the cringing noises and gasps from the elderly women sitting in the row behind me), but it's also a rewarding one. Victor Polster delivers some of the best work of the year in his portrayal of the protagonist, and while some will rightly be bothered by the fact that Polster is a cisgender male actor who cannot ever known firsthand the difficulties that someone like Lara would have gone through her entire life, he nonetheless delivers an arresting, sensitive performance that adroitly examines these devastating struggles. And while the film does focus a fair amount on the struggles that Lara faces through her transition, it also highlights her resilience and courage, which define her more than anything else. I also have to point out that it's been a landmark year for movie dads, with Arieh Worthalter fitting right in with Michael Stuhlbarg's dad from CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, Josh Hamilton's dad from EIGHTH GRADE, and Tracy Letts' dad from LADY BIRD. Worthalter shines as a devoting father who desires nothing more than his daughter's happiness.

If there's one thing I disliked about GIRL, however, it's the slow pacing, which I really started to feel during the last fifteen minutes of the film or so. It's only 105 minutes long but each and every minute is certainly felt. I also wasn't the biggest fan of Dhont cutting the music off during certain scenes (let the scene play out, Dhont!). Despite my complaints and the fact that I might not have loved GIRL, I still certainly believe it's worth watching.

A truly great film with an oscar winning performance

[Brusselssprout · 9/10 · 29 October 2018]

The struggles of a 15 year old girl are more than familiar and already well documented but just imagine and add to that the struggle of a girl living inside a masculine body. Every day being confronted with a body that you don't want and don't feel.The film does an extraordinay job of letting you feel all the emotions this courageous girl has to face each day over and over again. The main actor is simply stunning and if there's any justice, he should receive an oscar for this jaw dropping performance. I'm very displeased with comments as "the pacing is too slow" "or "too much repetition". To me there's only one way of discribing the ordinary life of this girl and the director was 100% right with the repetition and the pacing. Every shot is packed with emotion and tells so much. Just watch the faces of the actors and there's more action and emotion than any boring action movie. All the actors are amazing, the father, doctors, students even her little brother are very natural. It almost felt like a documentary but full of emotion. Naturally the transgender community was the first to protest - being gay myself i can say - what's new. The selfhate of - luckily - a small but loud part of the LGBT is that great that each and every attempt at making a book, film, play, etc... about the community is met with derision and has to be fiercely bashed. "Only a transgender actor could have played the role and felt the right emotions": did they really see the film and can honestly say that the emotions and acting are not spot on ? "Too much focus on the physical aspects": really ??? Ask just any 15-year old and they can tell just how much they are obsessed with their appearance, just add to that a girl in a boys' body, then tell me again why you shouldn't focus on the plysical aspects and their emotional impact. If you want to see a truly great film, it's this one.

Trapped in Another's Body...

[Xstal · 7/10 · 7 May 2020]

Following a year or so in the life of a teenager and the dilemmas faced as they struggle being somebody they're not. Sincerely and genuinely presented, although you will have to scrape your eyebrows off the ceiling toward the end as life's frustrations become all too overwhelming.

Powerful and deeply moving

[jamiedarlow-37510 · 9/10 · 22 June 2020]

The story about a 16 year old girl named Lara who is born inside a boy's body. She dreams of being a ballerina and works hard for her career ambitions while also undergoing the process of gender confirmation surgery. The central performance by Victor Polster is astonishing; it feels really transcendent to the point where Lara is real and this feels like an intimate documentary. Her psychological and physical struggles are heartbreaking and I couldn't wait to see her succeed. It's beautifully filmed which accompanies its soulful understanding of being human fantastically. It's a tough watch in places but it's an incredibly involving experience and a perfect character study

Good, not Great

[jramalho · 6/10 · 22 December 2018]

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.

Tear jerking and emotional

[dascalu_mihai · 8/10 · 30 October 2018]

Straigh, gay or trans, everybody should watch this flick so that we get this transphobia out of the current topics and see people as human beings.

Beautifully narrated and visually impressive, shocking even at some point.

it can be better than this

[sruitasuk · 6/10 · 21 May 2019]

From the start, till middle, and almost end. This movie can make a good pace, it display how hard-work of this girl what she want to be (ballerina). but in the end, what she lost everything, even the surgery.. and the baddest point of this movie is the end, what is that, after she removed it, and then she happy... what about ballerina that she work so hard? 6/10 for the good start

Extraordinary performance, intense and touching story - a portrait of this complicated and beautiful thing called life

[the_donnie · 10/10 · 29 June 2019]

Life is a hardship that each person goes through in a different way - for some, it bares the unsustainable day by day dilemma of not living your true self, in its unique and unapologetically way, regardless of anything or anyone else. This movie, to me, does not try to represent all the transgender people who go through the sex reassignment surgery - it tells a story of one individual, Lara, and her struggles, passion, hope and fear towards her physical and emotional self-expression as a trans woman. It's not an easy movie to watch. Entertaining is not a word to describe it. And yet it's worth every single minute, even with some flaws and imperfections. The most important take away for me is to be more empathetic towards others. Bravo performance by the leading actor.

Good, but not sensational

[rubenm · 7/10 · 28 October 2018]

'Girl' was a sensation in Cannes and received rave reviews in the Flemish press. This film is about a teenage girl who wants to be a ballet dancer, but is born with the body of a boy. It is based on a real life story about a transgender ballet dancer, who has publicly endorsed the film.

The film shows the anguish the girl feels about being stuck in the wrong body. She almost can't wait to get female curves. Although she looks very feminine and has the support of everyone around her, the whole process causes severe emotional problems. Moreover, her ballet classes are extremely hard and she isn't exactly an excellent pupil.

The film succeeds in showing what a girl like her has to go through. But nevertheless, I was a bit dissapointed after having seen the film. Apart from the transgender theme, there is not much moving the story forward from a dramatic point of view. A lot of scenes show the ballet classes, and after a while they don't offer anything new to the story. The same goes for the conversations between the girl and the medical team. The doctors encourage her to be patient, she reacts by not saying much in reply. In order to add any dramatic evolution into the screenplay, there is a very shocking incident at the very end. But to me, this felt forced, out of place and overdone. (This scene is, by the way, not based on a real life event).

The lead actor, Victor Polster, is in a way perfect for the role because he has the right androgyn looks. He is also convincing as a shy teenager, not feeling comfortable with a lot of things in life. But on the other hand I found his acting a bit restrained and one-dimensional, he showed little emotion.

The film received criticism for being too obsessed with the physical aspects of being a transgender, and not enough with the emotional side of it. I think this is beside the point, because the only question that really should matter is: is this a good film? My answer to that question is: yes, but not as good as the hype around it makes us believe.

Terrible.

[bluecolette · 1/10 · 9 December 2018]

The epitome of a movie about a transgender person made by people who are not trans, and clearly have no idea what they are talking about. Yes, it is well shot, yes, the acting is on point. But that's all. The pacing is completely off, with a clear lack of actual story and drama, spending too much time on unnecessary self-harming and boring scenes. The movie shows graphic scenes with no finesse, just for the sake of showing them. I feel terrible for the woman who inspired this movie; they took bits of her life, and used them out of context, making an extremely inaccurate and toxic movie. The ending, which didn't happen to the girl who inspired the movie, is absolutely ridiculous, makes no sense, and is NOT something to be showing to trans people. It is portrayed as a good thing, as what helps her in the end, when it should have been the opposite. Someone could, and probably will, do the same thing as her after seeing this scene. This is a dangerous movie, and for what? Once again people take stories about trans people, turn them into something tragic and inaccurate, to make money, without giving a damn about what it will do to the people who will watch it. Seeing everybody praising it is disgusting and shows the rampant transphobia in today's society, where trans people only exist for cis people's entertainment.

Rather disappointing

[caisha · 6/10 · 7 March 2019]

The summary and trailer has promised a lot more than was actually delivered. Not once did I felt emotional connection with any of the characters. Pacing and story building were way off. Overall it felt like a plot device for an underlying ideology rather than personal drama.

I would rather recommend watching "Una Mujer Fantástica" for the topic of trans experience,

The very best of film making ..and story telling.

[mjhsimon · 9/10 · 16 December 2018]

Saw this film at the Toronto Film Festival 2018.. Went on my own,sat beside a couple in their 80's..They came,because the wife felt it was a story she wanted to understand. It is a story we all need to understand. I see a lot of film,this story and film moved me deeply. The parent child relationship alone offers much to learn from. My very favourite and most. moving experience fron TIFF 2018.Brilliant performances.

Coming-of-gender

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 18 November 2018]

"Girl" is (despite the title) a Belgian 105-minute movie from 2018, very recent, and the country's official submission to the Oscars in the foreign language film category. Last year they went with big names Exarchopoulos and Schoenaerts without a lot of success, so this time they are taking a completely different route. We'll see how far they get. It doesn't look too bad at all with the awards recognition the film already received, especially at the Cannes Film Festival. Huge success for director Lukas Dhont who is also one of the writers. In the center of it all is the title character played by Viktor Polster in his very first career performance. He plays a teenager born as a boy who is in the process of transitioning to being a girl in terms of haircut, whom he showers with at school, but also in terms of the medication he takes. It is a pretty heavy film at times. The scene where all the hot girls discriminate against him is painful to watch. But the real heavy moment is towards the end. I won't go into detail, but it is a scene where I as a male just could not keep watching the screen anymore and that happens like once a year perhaps. Shocking stuff, but I guess it shows that I cared a lot about the protagonist's fate at that point. I think the BJ scene is also kinda tough, but this one could have gone all kinds of wrong to be honest and looking at how well it works in the overall picture, it becomes very clear that this is a really well-crafted movie in my opinion. There are no weaknesses. the lead actor is strong yes, but so is the supporting actor who plays his father and he probably not getting nowhere near the credit he should be getting. Minor scenes of discrimination like the clumsy teacher, the father entering the room or the little brother saying the boy's old name add additional quality and controversy. Oh yeah, and lets not forget about the ballet plot. Actually, there are so many ballet scenes in here that people with an interest in said activity can watch the movie for that reason alone I guess. It hurt seeing his bleeding feet. Finally, I would like to mention the very first scene, when we see the main character put earrings in and the father enters the bathroom and asks what the hell he is doing. Initially, you think he refers to him dressing up as a girl, but soon you know better. The father accepted his son's errrr.. daughter's decision and could not be any more tolerant. This is not a film like so many other LBGT movies that relies on cheap uninspired displays of discrimination. These displays here create the character. And the environment. And they never feel fake. I am generally fairly critical on the genre, but this one is a success without a doubt. I wonder how deep it will go atg the Oscars, but I have a feeling the last 9 will be the ceiling. Sadly? It is closer to 4 out of 5 than to 2 out of 4 without a doubt. Go watch it if you get the chance and can stomach the violence. Thumbs up.

I believe in humanity

[siriustrees · 10/10 · 27 November 2022]

There should be more movies like this. Everyone deserves to live the life they want to. There are so many crazy things going on right now - wars, politics who create rules like in the US to ban abortions and healthcare for trans people.

We should take care of each other, and be gentle.

The movie is visually very beautiful and represents a view that is hidden for many. It's simply showing a life of a person, which is as simple as it is - must not be anything that is "out of the world".

I believe in humanity because this movie exists - we must as species acknowledge existing of societal insufficiencies that still exist, and develop it further, to fit everyone in.

Much love, and thank you.

Important film but flawed

[keikoyoshikawa · 6/10 · 17 June 2023]

The content of this movie is not the issue. For the record, I support LGBTQI and I think this is an important movie to showcase the challenges faced by this population group. Sure, there were some actions taken by the protagonist and others in the movie that I thought were dumb or strange, but its their story.

However, my issue is the way the story was told - the direction, the acting, and script. While overall this was a good movie, I found it a bit disconcerting at the beginning because it was not clear when and where these events were taking place. Does this matter? Yes, because in some places being transgender is dangerous; in other places not so much.

The acting was also good for the most part. Kudos to Victor Polster as Lara. But the supporting characters were all dull. This made it seem like the movie was too self-absorbed because everything revolved around Lara, and there wasn't enough about the people around her who are affected by her actions, decisions, and what she does.

And finally, I think the movie was too short. We didn't really get to see the consequences of Lara's big decision towards the end of the movie. And I think that's a shame and a missed opportunity. Still, this movie is worthwhile to watch despite the flaws.

Moving and unique

[bluelampahead · 8/10 · 2 July 2022]

Here is a simple told story on a complicated personal subject. The film radiates humanity in every scene and I would defy anyone to remain unmoved by the hugely challenging journey undertaken by Lara. The touching relationship with her younger brother, her heart-felt conversations with her dad, the visually striking and punishing routines at the dance school; it all combines to create a unique viewing experience. Life is often pain but the film's prevailing theme is one of overcoming in despite of everything.

Not bad but very disappointing

[yongfilmcritic · 6/10 · 17 January 2019]

I missed girl in Cannes where everyone was talking about. Finally watched the film which I was very disappointed. it was not bad but certainly bloated by everyone. Transgender or not it is ultimately a meager story and a little Boring and soulless.

A story about humanity

[resireg · 10/10 · 22 March 2019]

I don't consider myself the target audience. I have the feeling that most lgbt movies are targeted to their own group, or to some non conformist female audience. I find that there are hardly any good movies for straight guys (like Philadelphia, C.R.A.Z.Y.), and I believe that many men can only watch movies like this alone, because other people might interpret our liking of a gay movie as an indication of som secret desire, o a hint of some effeminate tendency. The most homophobic judgement I heard so far was from straight female girls, so I avoid ever mentioning that I watched and even liked this movie. For example, when I watched the movie "Priscilla, the queen of the desert" many years ago, it made me disgusted with those bizarre, ultra flamboyant drag queens.

Since I live in an environment that is 99% straight, I never had any gay or transgender acquaintance (because they always prefered hangjng out with women), so I hve no idea how was thwir lives, upbringing, etc, so films like these help us a lot to see a reality of a tiny group that we only hear about in the news, but hardly ever encounter in real life. First of all, growing up in the 90s, the rule was to choose a group and fit in, so any effeminate boy would segregate himself in the girl's world (even doing P.E. class with them) and we the straight boys have no contact whatsoever with them. So I don't have a clue if they behave masculine at home in order to deceive their parents and brothers for example.

In the world that I grew up, transvestite was a synonim of sex worker, so we associated them with prostitution, drug use and freakiness. The fact that som many of them were selling themselves in the sidewalk meant that a lot of men are aroused and attracted by them, at the same time that I heard stories about groups of young guys getting together to phisically harm them, so there is this prejudice, even in me a little bit that they are to be avoided at any cost.

This movie (Girl) was very eye opening, because it reminded us that these people have fathers, brothers just like us, and they behave lime a normal family. In the movie, we cheer and support Lara, because we want her to become a woman , with hormones and reassignemnt surgery in order to fulfill her dreams and become what she want to be. It is incredible hpw the actor convinced me almost all the time that it was a female pwrson when she tending for her brother(she is almost like his mother), cooking for her relatives, so she was not trying to shock or harm her family. In the end she is trying to be happy, make friends, have fun, even date another guy (but I still consider some sort of rape a person to conceal their current sex, because it makes the act non consensual. A man assumes it is kissing and fondling a girl, not a person in trasition).

The beauty of the movie is also the self confidence of Lara or maybe extreme naiveté. Despite not being a girl yet, she does not mind sharing changing rooms, swimming, having sleepovers with other girls, when we know that she will be faced with embarassing questions or requests.

I call it an educational movie.

Important subject, boring script

[alieminci · 6/10 · 15 February 2020]

This movie is about a girl who was born in the wrong body..even tough her father and people around her are very accepting and helpful by the nature of this subject she is very depressed and having a difficult time accepting and living in her body till her operation time. Everything so far seems like a very good story plot ain't it? Yes it is but somehow they managed to make this amazingly fruitful subject into a boring movie. Acting and camera, colors all very nice but not enough. I give 6 because I strongly believe this is an important issue and must be encouraged to be told more

Boring and soulless

[bert-huys-242-355755 · 4/10 · 15 December 2018]

I am from Belgium but I don't agree that Girl deserves an Oscar nomination. Rundskop (Bullhead), another Belgian movie of 2011 for example, was so much better and did deserve an Oscar nomination. I was so dissapointed after having seen Girl. Apart from the transgender theme, there is not much moving the story forward from a dramatic point of view. A lot of scenes show the ballet classes, and after a while they don't offer anything new to the story. To add a bit of dramatic evolution into the screenplay, there is a shocking incident at the end. But this felt forced, and at that moment, I could really not care anymore what happened with 'the girl'. The lead actor, Victor Polster, never shows any true emotion at all. We also never know why he wanted to change from a boy into a girl. I must also say that I was getting dizzy after all that ballet dancing. Again, there is a lot of hype, around the 'transgender' theme, and this movie just not deserves all the positive critics. The movie is boring and has no soul.

A film of human charm

[a-78738 · 6/10 · 9 May 2020]

It is a film of human charm, expertly directed and compassionate. As lukas DE holt's impressive debut novel, it's nice to mix Dutch and French styles in a completely natural way. Undaunted by difficult subjects, he turned the lead actor, victor post, into an actor by acting and dancing. In the world of ballet, the human body is bent and remade by the force of will, providing fertile soil for this transformation process. The camera's description of Laura's body is reasonable, as it is her focus and her own battlefield.

A transgender woman in ballet

[Red-125 · 9/10 · 28 October 2021]

The Belgian movie Girl (2018) was co-written and directed by Lukas Dhont. It stars Victor Polster as Lara, who is a transgender woman studying at a prestigious ballet school.

In Belgium there is a formalized process for people who want to switch genders. Lara is moving though that process, but not as quickly as she would like. Being in ballet adds tension, because the costumes make it difficult to flatten make genitalia.

Contrary to what you might have imagined, Lara's father is loving and supporting. Her physicians and classmates are all sensitive to her situation, and they want to help her. (I expected obstacles and roadblocks, but I was wrong.) Still, it isn't easy.

Victor Polster is a brilliant actor, and he plays the part well. There was some controversy about using a cisgender male to portray a transgender woman. From a cinematic point of view, Polster looks like an attractive woman, so that works. I'll leave it up to the viewer to decide whether a cisgender man can adequately understand the feelings of a transgender woman.

I enjoyed this movie, and recommend it. Girl has a fairly low IMDb rating of 7.1. I thought it was much better than that, and rated it 9.