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Belgium, Netherlands · 2018
1h 45m
Director Lukas Dhont
Starring Victor Polster, Arieh Worthalter, Oliver Bodart, Tijmen Govaerts
Genre Drama
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15-year-old Lara wants to become a ballerina through classical training for female dancers. When she is admitted to a ballet school, her dream seems closer than ever. But there is one problem: Lara must grapple with her seemingly insurmountable gender dysphoria.
The Hollywood Reporter by Boyd van Hoeij
This intriguing debut feature from Flemish director Lukas Dhont, in a completely natural mix of Dutch and French, looks terrific, is not afraid to tackle a number of difficult subjects and features a star-making performance from acting and dancing talent Victor Polster.
Few narrative dramas (if any) have more sensitively explored the nuances of growing up transgender, the bravery required to transition, and the struggle for self-acceptance that can motivate or define that process. Likewise, few narrative dramas (if any) have more palpably distilled the pain of being deadnamed, the humiliation of being reduced to your body, and the cruelty of being misrepresented as something that you’re not.
Girl is an extraordinarily moving film
With enlivening performances and thoughtful filmmaking, Girl has the power to not just change lives but reinvigorate your belief in cinema.
Slant Magazine by Keith Watson
Lukas Dhont isn't really concerned with Lara's journey to find peace and balance, as he's interested only in her downward spiral of crisis.
Los Angeles Times by Kimber Myers
Dhont’s film is a strong debut from a technical angle, but it lacks the humanity necessary for a story of this nature.
For Lara, dancing matters more than dating, more than anything, and as such, Dhont’s relatively modest film manages to encompass the themes of both “Billy Elliot” and “Tomboy,” and deserves the recognition of both.
The Film Stage by Rory O'Connor
This effort to show Lara’s struggle like a coming-of-age story is what sets Girl apart. Dhont fleshes out his story with little growing-up moments everyone can relate to.
It is a quiet movie until it isn’t, a gentle character study that goes into extreme territory, a wrenching drama that you think is about finding acceptance until it threatens to become about the impossibility of that very thing.
Screen International by Wendy Ide
What’s crucial to the film’s success, however is the fact that, despite its candour about Lara’s pain, the film refuses to relinquish a note of hope.
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