XXY by Lucía Puenzo

XXY. Both a codename and a genetic code. Intriguing. But paradoxically, the subject to be dealt with here is clear from the beginning. For her first feature film, director Lucía Puenzo has chosen the ambitious theme of hermaphroditism ; and one asks oneself just what she will make of it. Often evoked, but rarely presented in such a precise and direct way, the search for sexual identity has inspired a work of soulful depth and rare sensitivity. XXY is a film which portrays without judgement, and which constantly plays on an alternation between shocking and more delicate, modest moments.

Presenting itself as a reflection on difference and the gaze of others, XXY plays on the parallels and oppositions which exist between the development of two young people and their families. The girl, Alex, is a young hermaphrodite, and the boy, Alvaro, is battling with his emerging homosexuality. Both of them are attempting to cut all ties with childhood and to choose what they will become. They undertake this quest together, complementing each other in their differences and seeking in their bond to put off this inescapable choice.

The omnipresent cold colours accentuating the contrast between love and oppression of the environment (these adults who seem to be strangers to the feelings of their children), everything evokes emotion in the viewer and renders the subject timeless, even universal. In effect, beyond hermaphroditism, XXY is a film about the search for ones’ feelings and identity during the period of adolescence.

There is then a great deal of emotional investment in the characters, both from the actors and from the viewer. Aided by a magnificent cast, this film, both intense, difficult and touching, does not leave any room for indifference. A masterful delivery from both the director Lucía Puenzo and young actress Inés Efron, in the role of the troubled adolescent.

Constance Déchelotte

Anatole Tomczak

Very Young Critics