The premiere of ‘Close’ confirms to us lukas dont as one of the most interesting European voices within the current film scene. The Belgian filmmaker already He showed great sensitivity with his debut film ‘Girl’a powerful LGTB+ drama that you have on Filmin and you can watch for free on RTVE Play.
I want to dance
Lara (Victor Polster) is a 15-year-old transgender girl who dreams of becoming a great dancer. The teenager will have to face the constant effort that she will need to reach her goal and her own fears, which will turn out to be her worst enemies.
After directing several short films, Lukas Dhont launched into writing and directing ‘Girl’. His film debut swept festivals like Cannes or San Sebastián and was well received at the box office.
With leisurely pace and a lot of sensitivitythe story brings us closer to its protagonist, to her concerns, aspirations and everything that goes through her head without her verbalizing it in any moment.
Dhont demonstrates his good hand when it comes to building intimate portraits from gestures, looks and other elements that speak to us without words about the psychology of the character and its evolution throughout the film.
It should be noted that we are dealing with a character in a delicate psychological state. Apart from how difficult adolescence is in itself and how hard the road to achieving her goals can be, she suffers violent episodes of dysphoria and is dragged into a series of intrusive thoughts that they can turn your mind into a real nightmare.
getting to know lara
For this reason, perhaps I would not recommend it to those people who are particularly sensitive to this issue or simply to those who are already fed up with seeing such dramatic LGBT+ representations (luckily, there are more and more examples like ‘Heartstopper’ and thus we have all kinds of alternatives ).
However, it is also unfair to demand that it be representative of all trans realities, due to the fact that it is a film on that subject (mainly because there are as many realities as there are people and it would end up making generalizations). ‘Girl’ does not intend to do so but focuses on the Lara, a character with her lights and shadows that he still has a long way to go.
In fact, the movie gets you to empathize with the pain of its protagonist and with that feeling of being trapped in a body that doesn’t feel like yours. She does it from containment and avoiding the temptation to let the drama overflow.
On the other hand, the film does present Lara’s family as a really positive counterpoint. The young woman finds in her father a true pillar, who offers her support at all times, both in her transition process and in her dream as a dancer.
‘Girl’ is a powerful intimate portrait that brings us closer to the psychology of its protagonist. Although she focuses on reflecting the most dramatic side of her character’s reality, she does so from restraint and with sensational camera handling.