Ma vie en rose
Encyclopedia
Ma vie en rose is a 1997 Belgian film directed by Alain Berliner
. It tells the story of Ludovic (Georges du Fresne), a child who was born male but consistently insists that she is supposed to be a girl. The film shows the struggle over the gender identity
she and her family experience.
; while she was born male, she knows that she is a girl and wants to live as female. The rest of the family humor her as best they can, rationalizing that she is only trying to find her identity and will be over it soon.
Trouble begins when Ludovic befriends Jérôme, the son of her father's boss, and expresses a desire to marry him when she is finally "not a boy." When visiting Jérôme's house, Ludovic enters her sister's room and puts on one of her dresses, not realizing that the sister is deceased and the room was merely kept in memory of her. Jérôme's mother sees this and she and the rest of the neighbors are horrified. The community turns against Ludovic and, by extension, the rest of the Fabre family. After Ludovic stands in as Snow White in a school play, the parents of the other students send in a petition to have her expelled. Ludovic's father, under strain as an employee of Jérôme's father, is unable to cope and causes conflict within the family. After a particularly bad argument, Ludovic attempts to mend the situation by hiding in a freezer to commit suicide. She is found in time and allowed to wear a skirt to a neighborhood party. While the other neighbors greet him warmly, the father gets fired the next day and finds his house spray painted with graffiti. Ludo runs out of the house saying she got her period. Hannah, Ludovic's mother, gets furious at Ludo for saying that. She blames Ludovic for everything that has gone wrong. Hannah wants to set Ludo straight so she cuts her hair to make her look like her brothers. Ludo hates her mother for doing this and wants to live with her grandmother.
When Ludo and her grandmother go visit Ludo's parents one weekend, the father announces that he has a new job but it's out of town, and they have to move.
At their new house, Ludovic is befriended by Christine "Chris" Delvigne, a female-to-male transgender. Chris's mother invites Ludovic to Chris' dress-up birthday party, which she attends in a musketeer outfit. Chris, unhappy in his princess outfit, asks Ludo to swap and has his friends force her to do so when she refuses. When Ludovic's mother sees her in the dress, she fears that their troubles are beginning again and lashes out by hitting her until the other party guests restrain her. She follows Ludovic to a billboard where she is shocked to see her in the picture, running away with a living Barbie-like doll named Pam. When she tries to follow, she falls through the ground and awakens at home. She and Ludovic's father assure her that she may wear skirts if she wishes and she in turn assures her mother that she never really intended to run away with Pam.
" where being en rose (in pink) means being in love; in the film it refers to Ludovic's female-gender identity.
The film features a fictional fashion doll brand, Le monde de Pam; this brand is fashioned after the similar, yet real, doll line, Barbie
.
The gender-ambiguous girl (Ludovic's counterpart) near the end of the film has the same first name as screenwriter Chris Vander Stappen, who has written and directed several films involving lesbian
relationships.
because of the nationality of Berliner, its director
and co-screenwriter
, the film is an international co-production
between companies in Belgium, the United Kingdom
and France
— the majority of the production work was done by the French independent-film
house Haut et Court and the shooting took place south of Paris
, France, near the commune of Évry.
The color timing
in the film is significant — it changes as parents exit from the school play, switching to cold-blue tones.
the film received an R rating by the Motion Picture Association of America
, an unusual decision because the film has minimal sexual content, minimal violence, and mild language. Those opposed to the rating believe that the rating was the result of transphobia
.
for Best Foreign Language Film
. It also won the Crystal Globe
award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
.
Alain Berliner
Alain Berliner is a Belgian director best known for the 1997 film Ma vie en rose, which won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 55th Golden Globe Awards in 1998...
. It tells the story of Ludovic (Georges du Fresne), a child who was born male but consistently insists that she is supposed to be a girl. The film shows the struggle over the gender identity
Gender identity
A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
she and her family experience.
Plot
When the Fabre family move into their dream house with wonderful neighbors, everything seems perfect except for one thing - the youngest child Ludovic is transgenderTransgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
; while she was born male, she knows that she is a girl and wants to live as female. The rest of the family humor her as best they can, rationalizing that she is only trying to find her identity and will be over it soon.
Trouble begins when Ludovic befriends Jérôme, the son of her father's boss, and expresses a desire to marry him when she is finally "not a boy." When visiting Jérôme's house, Ludovic enters her sister's room and puts on one of her dresses, not realizing that the sister is deceased and the room was merely kept in memory of her. Jérôme's mother sees this and she and the rest of the neighbors are horrified. The community turns against Ludovic and, by extension, the rest of the Fabre family. After Ludovic stands in as Snow White in a school play, the parents of the other students send in a petition to have her expelled. Ludovic's father, under strain as an employee of Jérôme's father, is unable to cope and causes conflict within the family. After a particularly bad argument, Ludovic attempts to mend the situation by hiding in a freezer to commit suicide. She is found in time and allowed to wear a skirt to a neighborhood party. While the other neighbors greet him warmly, the father gets fired the next day and finds his house spray painted with graffiti. Ludo runs out of the house saying she got her period. Hannah, Ludovic's mother, gets furious at Ludo for saying that. She blames Ludovic for everything that has gone wrong. Hannah wants to set Ludo straight so she cuts her hair to make her look like her brothers. Ludo hates her mother for doing this and wants to live with her grandmother.
When Ludo and her grandmother go visit Ludo's parents one weekend, the father announces that he has a new job but it's out of town, and they have to move.
At their new house, Ludovic is befriended by Christine "Chris" Delvigne, a female-to-male transgender. Chris's mother invites Ludovic to Chris' dress-up birthday party, which she attends in a musketeer outfit. Chris, unhappy in his princess outfit, asks Ludo to swap and has his friends force her to do so when she refuses. When Ludovic's mother sees her in the dress, she fears that their troubles are beginning again and lashes out by hitting her until the other party guests restrain her. She follows Ludovic to a billboard where she is shocked to see her in the picture, running away with a living Barbie-like doll named Pam. When she tries to follow, she falls through the ground and awakens at home. She and Ludovic's father assure her that she may wear skirts if she wishes and she in turn assures her mother that she never really intended to run away with Pam.
Title and names
The film's title may be intended as a reference to the song "La Vie en roseLa vie en rose
"La Vie en Rose" was the signature song of French singer Édith Piaf.-Signature song of Édith Piaf:Édith Piaf first popularized La Vie en Rose in 1946. The lyrics were written by Piaf and the melody of the song by "Louiguy" . Initially, Piaf's peers and her songwriting team did not think the song...
" where being en rose (in pink) means being in love; in the film it refers to Ludovic's female-gender identity.
The film features a fictional fashion doll brand, Le monde de Pam; this brand is fashioned after the similar, yet real, doll line, Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
.
The gender-ambiguous girl (Ludovic's counterpart) near the end of the film has the same first name as screenwriter Chris Vander Stappen, who has written and directed several films involving lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
relationships.
Production
Although internationally presented as a Belgian filmCinema of Belgium
Belgium is essentially a bi-lingual country divided into the Flemish north and the French-speaking south. There is also a small community of German speakers in the border region with Germany...
because of the nationality of Berliner, its director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and co-screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, the film is an international co-production
International co-production
An international co-production is a production where two or more different production companies are working together, for example in a film production...
between companies in Belgium, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
— the majority of the production work was done by the French independent-film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
house Haut et Court and the shooting took place south of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France, near the commune of Évry.
The color timing
Color grading
Color grading or colour painting, is the process of altering and enhancing the color of a motion picture, video image, or still image either electronically, photo-chemically or digitally. The photo-chemical process is also referred to as color timing and is typically performed at a photographic...
in the film is significant — it changes as parents exit from the school play, switching to cold-blue tones.
American controversy
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
the film received an R rating by the Motion Picture Association of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
, an unusual decision because the film has minimal sexual content, minimal violence, and mild language. Those opposed to the rating believe that the rating was the result of transphobia
Transphobia
Transphobia is a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards transsexualism and transsexual or transgender people, based on the expression of their internal gender...
.
Awards
The film won the Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Foreign Language Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the awards presented at the Golden Globes, an American film awards ceremony.Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film could be honoured...
. It also won the Crystal Globe
Crystal Globe
Crystal Globe is the main award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, first given in the city of Karlovy Vary of the Czech Republic, in 1948.In the international competition of films, IFFKV presents the following awards:...
award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary , Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival gained worldwide recognition over the past years and has become one of Europe's major film events....
.
See also
- Childhood gender nonconformityChildhood Gender NonconformityChildhood gender nonconformity is a phenomenon in which pre-pubescent children do not conform to expected gender-related sociological or psychological patterns, and/or identify with the opposite gender...
- Cross-dressing in film and televisionCross-dressing in film and televisionCross-dressing in motion pictures began in the early days of the silent films. Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel brought the tradition of female impersonation in the English music halls when they came to America with Fred Karno's comedy troupe in 1910. Both Chaplin and Laurel occasionally dressed as...
- Gender identityGender identityA gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
- List of Belgian submissions for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- TransgenderTransgenderTransgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
- Transgender in film and televisionTransgender in film and televisionThis article lists many films whose primary character are transgender. It also includes films of note who have a secondary transgender character.-Film and video:...