One can see the possibilities for conflict in a story about an adolescent hermaphrodite (intersexual). Conflict is often a trait of a good drama: one that draws you to watch it in the first place. This coming-of-age movie is not disappointing in the sense that it DOES have conflicts, at several levels, not the least of which is the hormonal conflict going on within Alex's body.
The story takes place in a remote coastal village in Uruguay where 15- year-old Alex (Ines Efron), lives with her father, Kraken (Ricardo Darin), and mother, Suli (Valeria Bertuccelli). Her father works there as a marine zoologist who studies the migratory patterns of sea turtles.
Suli invites a family of old friends from Buenos Aires to stay with them for a while. The couple, Ramiro (German Palacios), and Erika (Carolina Pelleritti), have a teenage son, Alvaro (Martin Piroyansky), who comes with them. The two families had not seen each other for about ten years, but Suli is hopeful that Ramiro—a plastic surgeon---can help Alex make a decision about where she should go with her life now that she is in puberty. (It seems that Suli is fairly committed to more surgery for Alex, whereas Kraken wants Alex to make her own decision.)
From the time that the two families are thrown together there is a palpable tension in the air. The two men barely talk to each other and the two women converse only in a cursory way. This is evidenced when the two families meet at the dinner table. Here we learn that Ramiro does most of the speaking for his shy and awkward son, Alvaro; Alvaro is a vegetarian, very picky about what he eats. When wine is offered at the table, Ramiro encourages Alvaro to drink, even after Alvaro had turned the wine down. Kraken sees this as bullying and declares that that is one of the main reasons they came to this place: to get away from such bullying. At the dinner table, we also learn that Alex had recently been expelled from school for fighting with her best friend, Vando (Luciano Nóbile), and breaking his nose. When Suli suggests that they need to apologize to Vando and his parents, Kraken—always defensive and protective of Alex--snaps back that THEY should be apologizing to her.
Alex and Alvaro first met each other on the beach. Alvaro is just sitting there, drawing, when Alex plops down beside him and tells him she knows that he has just jacked off before coming to the beach. When asked how she knew, she says that she heard him and she knows. He tells HER to go jack off. She responds that she/he DOES--every day. This brings an incredulous look to Alvaro's face. Later in the same conversation, she tells him that she has never f—ked anyone and asks him if he would f —k her. He says no. When she asks why, he says that she is too young and that they don't know each other well enough. She retorts that that is a great reason for him to be her first f—k. On a later occasion on the beach, he calls her a freak. He doesn't know why (or at least how to express it)—it is just the way people always stare at her.
Alex then runs away from Alvaro and into the loft of a nearby garage to cry. Alvarvo follows Alex which leads to their first sexual encounter-- together (with Alex acting as the "pitcher" while having anal sex with Alvaro, as Alex's "catcher"). Kraken oversees this encounter and describes it to his wife. After witnessing the encounter--as well as knowing that Alex has recently stopped taking her masculine-preventing corticoids---Kraken is moved to seek out a man in a nearby city. He knows about the man from an old, highly-publicized newspaper story. (The old newspaper story had covered the transsexual journey of an intersexual child, raised as a girl, who had becomes a man.)
The movie later shows how Alex is bullied on the beach by a group of local boys who want to see her pubic area. Though the group is led by her former friend Vando, he is the one who intercedes to protect her from the group taking it too far. Interestingly, though Alex's parents know that she was almost raped, they fail to make any official complaint or take Alex to the clinic to be examined.
Though Kraken loves Alex unconditionally, he continues to insist that these decisions should be left up to Alex. (Here, we see how totally conflicted the parents are about how to handle their 15-year-old daughter/son. This is due to past problems that they have had with officials about what sex Alex is and whether to expose her--or themselves--to more public scrutiny.)
One can agree or disagree with the parents' decisions about Alex. For example, I think that she should have had the benefit of regular, non- judgmental, and long-term psychological counseling LONG before puberty. In other words, a trained, non-biased person could have picked up clues about what Alex thought (or believed) about her sexuality over a long period of time and long before puberty made the decision necessary.
All clues presented in the movie point towards the fact that Alex had no use for those bothersome "monthly visits" that come from her vagina, and Alex seems to totally enjoy her penis. However, sexuality may involve more than just enjoyment of the genitalia.
To me, the movie points more towards a masculine than a feminine temperament and behavior for Alex. However, the fact that one even CARES about the two parents' approaches to the problem argues in favor of the fact that this is a good movie. It draws you into the problem and elicits you to get involved and care.
The story takes place in a remote coastal village in Uruguay where 15- year-old Alex (Ines Efron), lives with her father, Kraken (Ricardo Darin), and mother, Suli (Valeria Bertuccelli). Her father works there as a marine zoologist who studies the migratory patterns of sea turtles.
Suli invites a family of old friends from Buenos Aires to stay with them for a while. The couple, Ramiro (German Palacios), and Erika (Carolina Pelleritti), have a teenage son, Alvaro (Martin Piroyansky), who comes with them. The two families had not seen each other for about ten years, but Suli is hopeful that Ramiro—a plastic surgeon---can help Alex make a decision about where she should go with her life now that she is in puberty. (It seems that Suli is fairly committed to more surgery for Alex, whereas Kraken wants Alex to make her own decision.)
From the time that the two families are thrown together there is a palpable tension in the air. The two men barely talk to each other and the two women converse only in a cursory way. This is evidenced when the two families meet at the dinner table. Here we learn that Ramiro does most of the speaking for his shy and awkward son, Alvaro; Alvaro is a vegetarian, very picky about what he eats. When wine is offered at the table, Ramiro encourages Alvaro to drink, even after Alvaro had turned the wine down. Kraken sees this as bullying and declares that that is one of the main reasons they came to this place: to get away from such bullying. At the dinner table, we also learn that Alex had recently been expelled from school for fighting with her best friend, Vando (Luciano Nóbile), and breaking his nose. When Suli suggests that they need to apologize to Vando and his parents, Kraken—always defensive and protective of Alex--snaps back that THEY should be apologizing to her.
Alex and Alvaro first met each other on the beach. Alvaro is just sitting there, drawing, when Alex plops down beside him and tells him she knows that he has just jacked off before coming to the beach. When asked how she knew, she says that she heard him and she knows. He tells HER to go jack off. She responds that she/he DOES--every day. This brings an incredulous look to Alvaro's face. Later in the same conversation, she tells him that she has never f—ked anyone and asks him if he would f —k her. He says no. When she asks why, he says that she is too young and that they don't know each other well enough. She retorts that that is a great reason for him to be her first f—k. On a later occasion on the beach, he calls her a freak. He doesn't know why (or at least how to express it)—it is just the way people always stare at her.
Alex then runs away from Alvaro and into the loft of a nearby garage to cry. Alvarvo follows Alex which leads to their first sexual encounter-- together (with Alex acting as the "pitcher" while having anal sex with Alvaro, as Alex's "catcher"). Kraken oversees this encounter and describes it to his wife. After witnessing the encounter--as well as knowing that Alex has recently stopped taking her masculine-preventing corticoids---Kraken is moved to seek out a man in a nearby city. He knows about the man from an old, highly-publicized newspaper story. (The old newspaper story had covered the transsexual journey of an intersexual child, raised as a girl, who had becomes a man.)
The movie later shows how Alex is bullied on the beach by a group of local boys who want to see her pubic area. Though the group is led by her former friend Vando, he is the one who intercedes to protect her from the group taking it too far. Interestingly, though Alex's parents know that she was almost raped, they fail to make any official complaint or take Alex to the clinic to be examined.
Though Kraken loves Alex unconditionally, he continues to insist that these decisions should be left up to Alex. (Here, we see how totally conflicted the parents are about how to handle their 15-year-old daughter/son. This is due to past problems that they have had with officials about what sex Alex is and whether to expose her--or themselves--to more public scrutiny.)
One can agree or disagree with the parents' decisions about Alex. For example, I think that she should have had the benefit of regular, non- judgmental, and long-term psychological counseling LONG before puberty. In other words, a trained, non-biased person could have picked up clues about what Alex thought (or believed) about her sexuality over a long period of time and long before puberty made the decision necessary.
All clues presented in the movie point towards the fact that Alex had no use for those bothersome "monthly visits" that come from her vagina, and Alex seems to totally enjoy her penis. However, sexuality may involve more than just enjoyment of the genitalia.
To me, the movie points more towards a masculine than a feminine temperament and behavior for Alex. However, the fact that one even CARES about the two parents' approaches to the problem argues in favor of the fact that this is a good movie. It draws you into the problem and elicits you to get involved and care.