Midway through the 30th annual Vancouver International Film Festival, while surfing through VanRamblings’ twitter account, we ran across a rave from Hitfix film contributor Guy Lodge, for Céline Sciamma’s award-winning Tomboy, a reportedly unassuming, delightful and nuanced gem of a tale of ten-year-old Laure (Zoé Héran) who moves to a new neighbourhood over the summer holidays, and impetuously decides to introduce herself to the local kids as Mikael, a boy. Tomboy opens this Friday at the VanCity.
Here’s what some of the critics have to say about Tomboy …
Entertainment Weekly’s Lisa Scharzbaum writes, “The startling power of Tomboy, a beautiful, matter-of-fact French drama about a young girl who wants to be a boy — and for one singular summer around her 10th birthday passes as one — begins with the one-of-a-kind natural performance by Zoé Héran as Laure. Taking her family’s move to a new neighborhood as a chance for reinvention, she introduces herself as Mikael, happily playing sports with the guys and even attracting a romance-minded girl (Jeanne Disson). Equally admirable in Céline Sciamma’s hopeful drama: Laure’s empathetic parents. Grade: A-
The Los Angeles Time’s Robert Abele writes, “Quiet and naturalistic in the best way, the French film Tomboy rolls out a tale of malleable pre-adolescent identity with a marked absence of sensationalism … Anchored by Héran’s bravely nuanced turn and the impish cuteness of Malonn Lévana — whose giddy joy at briefly inheriting a protective older brother is thoroughly charming — Tomboy stands out as an especially affecting delicacy about the thrills and pitfalls of exploring who one is.
Critical response gathered at the Movie Review Query Engine (MRQE) are almost all as equally as laudatory concerning Tomboy, providing every good reason to plunk down your hard-earned dollars this Friday evening at 6:30 pm, or over the next week on Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday or Thursday.
