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| XXY | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Lucía Puenzo |
| Produced by | José María Morales Carla Pelligra Luis Puenzo Fernando Sirianni Fabienne Vonier |
| Written by | Lucía Puenzo |
| Starring | Ricardo Darín Valeria Bertuccelli Inés Efron Martín Piroyansky Carolina Peleritti |
| Music by | Andrés Goldstein Daniel Tarrab |
| Cinematography | Natasha Braier |
| Editing by | Alex Zito |
| Release date(s) | June 14, 2007 |
| Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | Argentina |
| Language | Spanish |
XXY is a 2007 Argentine film written and directed by Lucía Puenzo. The film stars Ricardo Darín, Valeria Bertuccelli, Inés Efron and Martín Piroyansky. It tells the story of a 15-year-old intersex person: the way her family copes with her condition, and the ultimate decision that she must eventually make as she explores her sexuality.
XXY has received widespread critical acclaim, winning the Critics' Week grand prize at the 2007 Cannes film festival, as well as the ACID/CCAS Support Award.1 It was nominated for eight awards at the 2008 Argentine Film Critics Association Awards, and was nominated or won awards at a number of other foreign film festivals. It was chosen to close the 2008 Melbourne Queer Film Festival.
The film's title is a reference to Klinefelter's Syndrome, also known as XXY Syndrome, a condition in which males have an extra X sex chromosome.
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Plot summary
Alex (Efron) is a 15-year-old intersex person, with both male and female genitals, but living as a girl, who has been using medicines to suppress male features such as a beard, and to attempt to have more feminine features. However, recently Alex has discontinued using these medicines.
Alex's parents moved with her from Argentina to a village by the sea in Uruguay, to flee from negatively reacting people. Her father, Néstor Kraken (Darín), is a marine biologist who has written a book on sexuality and makes a living treating wounded animals supplied by fishermen. Her mother, Suli (Bertuccelli), invites friends from Argentina: a surgeon, his wife and teenage son Álvaro (Piroyansky). The purpose, unknown to Néstor, is to discuss the possibilities of an operation.
Alex bluntly tells Álvaro that she would like to have sex with him. After some hesitation he agrees. Unexpectedly Alex penetrates Álvaro anally. They are interrupted by Néstor seeing it. Alex later apologizes, but Álvaro says he liked it.
Three boys from the village forcibly pull down Alex's pants to see her genitals. Néstor realizes that reporting this to the police would cause the whole village to know about Alex's condition. However, Alex decides that it does not matter. Alex also decides that she does not want to resume taking medicines, or have an operation.
Guests from Argentina depart. During the farewell Alvaro tells Alex that he loves her.
Themes
Alex keeps aquariums full of clownfish. Clownfish are protandrous hermaphrodites: all individuals are initially male, and may later become female. This example of a hermaphroditic organism in nature is repeated throughout the film.
The sea animal motif recurs in the family name Kraken, which is also the name of a mythical sea monster.
Critical reception
The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. As of May 3, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 69% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 16 reviews.2 Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 66 out of 100, based on 6 reviews.3 The film's U.S. premiere is set for June 24, 2008 at Frameline 32, the 32nd San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival.
See also
References
- ^ Leffler, Rebecca (May 26, 2007). "Critics Week grand prize to 'XXY'", Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 25 June 2007.
- ^ "XXY Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
- ^ "XXY (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
External links
- Official website
- XXY at the Internet Movie Database
- Artist Direct Review
- XXY at Rotten Tomatoes
- XXY at Metacritic
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 12 November 2008, at 20:11.
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