XXY

First there was Sofia Coppola, who made her directorial debut with the all but safe Virgin Suicides. Now Lucìa Puenzo, another in-bred filmmaker (her father is one of Argentina's most famous directors), has chosen an even more uncomfortable subject for her first steps behind the camera, and the result is a beautiful, bold and oddly touching picture.

Much of the movie's power derives from the astounding central performance by Inés Efron, who plays the troubled Alex, a 15-year old girl living in a village by the sea in Uruguay. It was her father, marine biologist Kraken (Ricardo Darìn) who decided to move there from Buenos Aires, and for a good reason: his daughter suffers from a rare and frankly embarrassing medical condition, the nature of which is hinted at in the title. It has already caused her to break her best friend's nose, and more problems will come as the family receives an unexpected visit from a surgeon and his young son Alvaro, with whom Alex embarks on an awkward relationship.

XXY tackles a delicate issue with great care, allowing both sides to speak their mind (although the movie isn't really about taking sides) and addressing the problem without trivializing it. Most surprisingly, it doesn't get as explicit as other films with similar themes (Boys Don't Cry comes to mind), except for the wonderfully shocking climax (in every sense) of one of Alex's encounters with Alvaro. It's a scene of unexpected poignancy, especially considering the contrast between the brutality of that moment and Alex's visible vulnerability. Therein lies the movie's core: it is not a traditional teen story, nor is it a conventional issue picture; at its center we have a person who is seemingly unable to accept herself, as well as her complex bonds with other people.

It is those connections that the director analyzes with startling precision in the second half, with particular attention to the way the two kids relate with their fathers (close-ups are very important here, as the devastated looks on the great actors' faces act as a counterbalance to the seductive landscape). And there lies the biggest shock: Alex and Kraken, despite the difficulties they're going through, manage to get closer, while Alvaro's apparently perfect life is shattered in a brief, bleak lesson of cynicism from his old man. As a matter of fact, that might be too much: that scene is just a little too cold, too cruel to really feel at home in the picture. However, the rest of XXY holds up in an almost perfect way, with its strong story, affecting cast and an open ending which, despite being frustrating at first, makes perfect sense: this kind of story cannot really end.

An interesting movie that explores the issue of intersex identity and the subsequent difficult relationships that such people my encounter - most because of the polarized perspective of most sis-gendered people...

The movie tried a little too hard though IMHO and the edgy feel to the locations, family dynamics and relationships explored in this movie doesn't really lend itself to opening up this subject to the audience.

In short - it fell short of my expectations of delivering a good movie on the subject of intersex people and how this impacts upon their lives and the people around them. I'd like to see this movie done in a typical 'Suburbia' setting which can then explore the social issues and attitudes more openly and really challenge what people think upon the subject.

This is an area that many people are still very stigmatized for (despite the fact that 1 in 2000 babies are born with an intersex condition!) to such an extent that the subject is not one that is readily discussed in public at all!!! The dirth of movies on this subject is also testament to the difficulty of the subject.

I will not get into any comments on the movie despite the medical facts. I think other people can do and have done this better than me. I just want to say I loved this movie and for who is interested here are some facts why the story is fictional:

Alex seems to have both genders. She seems to have both - a vagina and a penis - and the doctors already noticed that before she was born. That is referred to as real hermaphroditism, but it is actually not a part of Klinefelter's syndrome, which is a so-called "pseudo-hermaphroditism". All children with an extra X chromosome in addition to XY (so 47,XXY-children) are BOYS. The Sex-determing Region of Y is making them develop to boys. So they won't have nor a vagina nor a uterus and until puberty they are usually not even diagnosed.

Boys with Klinefelter's Syndrome usually consult a doctor because of insufficient growth of the testes in puberty. Some get gynecomastia (breast development in boys) and stay with a high voice. The penis and hair usually develop normal.

So as long as they don't have a genetic abnormality on their Y-chromosome they won't be real hermaphrodites, which is a really rare condition anyway and comes along with the normal Karyotypes 46,XX or 46,XY in most cases.

Anyway it is a great movie! Enjoy!

Hermaphrodites or intersexuals,as they are called today - imho a slightly pejorative expression - are a rare theme in contemporary art; I can only think of Euginides book "Middlesex". The more it is surprising,that "XXY" comes from Argentine, a country not especially prominent in modern gender discourses. But Luisa Puenza impresses in her first feature film with a sensibility and open-mindedness,which will last in the memory for a long time.Puberty is always a difficult state between two identities: Not longer a child and not yet an adult.For the main protagonist Alex that problem doubles,because for her there is also the question of her future sexual identity.Society demands a clear decision.Like the language,which cannot find an expression for his/her existence - the adults alternately speak of "her" or "him" -, so the medicine aims at subjecting everyone to its sexual bipolarity. With witty dialogs and panache the film proclaims the right of being different and of searching one's own sexual niche. But luckily it's far from being dogmatic or didactic.It also understands the position of the parents to give their child a kind of shelter and save it from the confrontation with society.What the film openly criticizes are the operations, or should I better say amputations shortly after birth. The acting is generally fine, especially by Efron("Glue") and Darin.The missing star is the result of little flaws: In some places it too symbolically conceived: It takes place at the coast,which combines land and water; the father working as a marine biologist for sea turtles,whose sex cannot be defined from outside.Such clear hints wouldn't have been necessary. Luckily in our modern advanced society it is for an individual easier possible to define its own "normality" and fight for it, though it will be a lifelong fight.The film shows that in a way encouraging the viewers.

In a small coastal town of fishermen in Uruguay, the biologist Kraken (Ricardo Darín) works and lives in a house at the sea side with his wife Suli (Valeria Bertuccelli) and their aggressive fifteen year-old daughter Alex (Inés Efron).

When Suli welcomes her former best friend Erika (Carolina Peleritti) that comes with her husband, the surgeon Ramiro (Germán Palacios) and their teenage son Alvaro (Martín Piroyansky) to spend a couple of days with her family, Kraken learns that his wife invited Ramiro to operate Alex. Meanwhile Alex and Alvaro feel attracted by each other; however, Alvaro finds that Alex is hermaphrodite and she finds that Alvaro is gay. But the troubled and outcast Alex has the right to choose what gender she wants for her.

"XXY" is a cruel and heartbreaking movie about coming of age, rejection, sexuality and choices. Alex has loving parents but is rejected by the locals and is not sure about her sexuality while Alvaro is gay, rejected by his father and also a confused teenager. The story is very well developed and supported by magnificent performances.

For those like me that do not understand the title "XXY", I searched in Internet and found in Wikipedia that "Klinefelter's Syndrome, 47, XXY, or XXY syndrome is a condition in which a human has an extra X chromosome. While females have an XX chromosomal makeup, and males an XY, affected individuals have at least two X chromosomes and at least one Y chromosome." However, Alex is clearly hermaphrodite and the article does not mention this medical condition for XXY Males. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "XXY"