My Life in Pink (1997)

Best movie ever!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

"Ma Vie En Rose," winner of the 1997 Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film (its English title is "My Life in Pink"), concerns Ludo, a 7-year-old boy who likes to dress up as a girl and dreams of marrying a boy, even staging a mock wedding with himself decked out in a pink satin dress and pearls. His parents are appalled. When Ludo makes an appearance at a family gathering dressed as a girl, the father covers his embarrassment with nervous laughter and insists his son is just joking. The mother drags him to the sink to wash off his lipstick. When Ludo continues to cross-dress, they take him to a therapist "to set him straight." Ludo's attempts to be a typical boy prove disastrous, however. When he tries to kiss a girl, she knocks him to the ground. "I don't kiss girls," she sneers. He proves too gentle for football, and when another boy sees him through the opening of a toilet stall, sitting down to pee, he explains that he's a "girl-boy." Of course, Ludo is almost certain to grow up to be homosexual or transgender, perhaps opting to change his gender through surgery. The film doesn't take us that far into the future, but does conclude on a note of acceptance. "Whatever happens, you'll always be my child," the father tells Ludo, shortly before the credits roll.The boy in "Ma Vie En Rose" is adorable, and is very convincing when dolled up as a female. The film itself is quite lovely. Undoubtedly, there are those who would assail it as propaganda meant to promote tolerance toward homosexuals and gender-bending boys. Maybe it is, but the fact remains that there are boys who want to be girls, and such boys would exist even if a film like Ma Vie En Rose did not. If it succeeds in making the life of a "girl boy" easier, what's wrong with that?Brian W. Fairbanks

You do owe it to yourself to see this film. It shows the bias of the MPAA that this film is rated R, don't listen to them, if you have children, show it to them, if you don't, you owe them an explanation as to why not. This is an outstanding movie. They rated it R for using the F bomb once (it is written but you probably won't notice it). It is a well made movie and gives an accurate portrayal of a transsexual. It doesn't go too far over the top, just a little bit but still, it is the most accurate to date. The movie is touching in a "it's a wonderful life" type way. At least rent the movie if you are curious about it. I bought it and don't regret it. Don't let it deter you that it is french, after a while, you won't even realize that you are reading subtitles.

I endured this film because it came highly recommended. Rarely has a film so egregiously disappointed me based on the glowing reviews of those I know who sang its praises. Ultimately, I thought it to be a heinous transposition of Berliner's personal fantasy world into the words and life of a child, barely above kindergarten age. Before cries of "homophobe!" or, "trans-sexual basher!" are leveled upon me, please understand that I am highly sympathetic to the strife and sacrifice many homosexuals and trans-gender persons endure throughout their lives. I also know that sexual confusion is a large part of growing up for many young people afraid to confront their true sexuality when they begin to feel very different and ostracized from their peers. But a 7-year-old boy? I simply could not overcome the inherent absurdity of Ludovic, a 7-year-old boy who dreams of having his period and who longs to marry and passionately kiss another young boy upon completion of said marriage. Indeed, everyone is different, of this there can be no doubt. However, for the sake of verisimilitude (please remember this is a fictional story), how many "straight" 7-year-old boys even long to passionately kiss little girls? The frank and disturbing sexuality of the gay little nymph as portrayed in Ludovic smacks of Berliner's bizarre, twisted fantasy; a film in which he may excuse, exorcise, and at the same time realize his lurid demons by using a VERY pre-teen child as his mouthpiece as opposed to a lucid, cognizant, world-weary adult trans-sexual. Perhaps Berliner himself knew whole-heartedly that he was gay and wanted to express such very, very openly when he was 7, but of every gay friend I've since discussed this film with since watching it, none could relate a common experience as presented in "Ma Vie en Rose." Again, a dastardly misuse of the gift of cinema for a film-maker to indulge himself and soak in the trappings of self-aggrandizing pre-teen homosexuality. Poor, poor, poor.

Ma Vie en Rose is an extremely moving account of the struggles of a seven-year-old French transgendered girl. In the earliest stages of expressing her identity, Ludovic (I am not sure what her desired name is) suffers from frequent misunderstanding and punishment from adult figures in her life. Her parents, grandparents, neighbors, and even a doctor attack and discourage her efforts to convey her feelings of being female. These uncomfortable moments are brilliantly cut against wonderful dream-like scenes and also a few hopeful moments. It is so rare that a film captures a bit of the essence of what it means and entails to be transsexual/transgendered, and oddly, it's the ones that never even mention the 't' words. Unfortunately, though the audience probably feels appropriate sympathy for the main character and experiences a more proper emotional reaction to a transgendered person, they still remain uneducated on the details, even proper words, that are necessary for understanding the transgender experience. Ma Vie en Rose, as a film, has some terrific cinematography, and even in translation, alot of the dialogue is unique. Pacing is fantastic, and the story is absolutely unforgettable. Get out the Kleenex for this one.