The Belgian movie Girl (2018) was co-written and directed by Lukas Dhont. It stars Victor Polster as Lara, who is a transgender woman studying at a prestigious ballet school.

In Belgium there is a formalized process for people who want to switch genders. Lara is moving though that process, but not as quickly as she would like. Being in ballet adds tension, because the costumes make it difficult to flatten make genitalia.

Contrary to what you might have imagined, Lara's father is loving and supporting. Her physicians and classmates are all sensitive to her situation, and they want to help her. (I expected obstacles and roadblocks, but I was wrong.) Still, it isn't easy.

Victor Polster is a brilliant actor, and he plays the part well. There was some controversy about using a cisgender male to portray a transgender woman. From a cinematic point of view, Polster looks like an attractive woman, so that works. I'll leave it up to the viewer to decide whether a cisgender man can adequately understand the feelings of a transgender woman.

I enjoyed this movie, and recommend it. Girl has a fairly low IMDb rating of 7.1. I thought it was much better than that, and rated it 9.

"Girl" is (despite the title) a Belgian 105-minute movie from 2018, very recent, and the country's official submission to the Oscars in the foreign language film category. Last year they went with big names Exarchopoulos and Schoenaerts without a lot of success, so this time they are taking a completely different route. We'll see how far they get. It doesn't look too bad at all with the awards recognition the film already received, especially at the Cannes Film Festival. Huge success for director Lukas Dhont who is also one of the writers. In the center of it all is the title character played by Viktor Polster in his very first career performance. He plays a teenager born as a boy who is in the process of transitioning to being a girl in terms of haircut, whom he showers with at school, but also in terms of the medication he takes. It is a pretty heavy film at times. The scene where all the hot girls discriminate against him is painful to watch. But the real heavy moment is towards the end. I won't go into detail, but it is a scene where I as a male just could not keep watching the screen anymore and that happens like once a year perhaps. Shocking stuff, but I guess it shows that I cared a lot about the protagonist's fate at that point. I think the BJ scene is also kinda tough, but this one could have gone all kinds of wrong to be honest and looking at how well it works in the overall picture, it becomes very clear that this is a really well-crafted movie in my opinion. There are no weaknesses. the lead actor is strong yes, but so is the supporting actor who plays his father and he probably not getting nowhere near the credit he should be getting. Minor scenes of discrimination like the clumsy teacher, the father entering the room or the little brother saying the boy's old name add additional quality and controversy. Oh yeah, and lets not forget about the ballet plot. Actually, there are so many ballet scenes in here that people with an interest in said activity can watch the movie for that reason alone I guess. It hurt seeing his bleeding feet. Finally, I would like to mention the very first scene, when we see the main character put earrings in and the father enters the bathroom and asks what the hell he is doing. Initially, you think he refers to him dressing up as a girl, but soon you know better. The father accepted his son's errrr.. daughter's decision and could not be any more tolerant. This is not a film like so many other LBGT movies that relies on cheap uninspired displays of discrimination. These displays here create the character. And the environment. And they never feel fake. I am generally fairly critical on the genre, but this one is a success without a doubt. I wonder how deep it will go atg the Oscars, but I have a feeling the last 9 will be the ceiling. Sadly? It is closer to 4 out of 5 than to 2 out of 4 without a doubt. Go watch it if you get the chance and can stomach the violence. Thumbs up.

Following a year or so in the life of a teenager and the dilemmas faced as they struggle being somebody they're not. Sincerely and genuinely presented, although you will have to scrape your eyebrows off the ceiling toward the end as life's frustrations become all too overwhelming.