TRANS ON FILM

As most in the LGBTQ know, November is Trans Awareness month. Never more important than ever in these times. With this gross administration it's important to support the trans community. I don't know if any of you have caught TCM this month, but wow...did they shove a big one up the administrations ass. Yes...I have been enjoying it all month and YES, TCM has celebrated trans movies through special programming most notably through their series of Trans Images on Film. The series is often presented with trans critics and authors who discuss the film and the history of trans representation in cinema. So far films such as Ma Vie en Rose, Dog Day Afternoon. Paris is Burning, Dressed in Blue, The Christine Jorgenson Story. Some of My Best Friends Are, and Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, a great movie I hadn't seen in sometime, and forgotten that Karen Black, Cher and Kathy Bates were in it and were incredible. I found the month to be very purposeful. The month-long series shed light on the history of trans identify in cinema and provide a more complete picture of trans experiences on screen, and not to mention what the trans goes through in life. I had seen most of the films but two, and were they excellent films.

The first was Some of My Best Friends Are.

This film starred Fannie Flagg, Rue McClanahan and a great performance by Candy Darling. The movie takes place on Christmas Eve 1971, in Greenwich Village, a group of gay men and lesbians meet at the mob owned Blue Jay Bar to talk about their lives and relationships.

Candy Darlings performance was something I can't help but wonder if many trans went through. In once scene she is embarrassed in front of the whole bar when a male patron discovers she is really a man. The scene was a bit hard to watch. But Candy Darling gave a hell of a great performance, an authentic portrayal of someone hiding inner heartache behind a public persona, which was a powerful and personal reflection of Darlings own life.

The seond treat this month has been another film I never saw, Ma vie en Rose, a 1997 Franco-Belgian drama film directed by Alain Berliner.

It tells the story of Ludovic, a transgender girl, and depicts her family and community struggling to accept her gender identity. Ludo find only rejection, isolation and guilt, as the intense reactions of family, friends, and neighbors strip away every innocent lace and bauble. As suburban prejudices close around them, family loves and loyalties are tested in the ever-escalating dramatic turns in this feature. It loved the film.

What a colorful and great film it was, and a powerful film. I think the film depicted more than any other film featuring a trans, what a trans person really goes through and the torment they face from those around them and even question their own path at times. Everyone in the film does a great job, but what a power delivery from the actor, Georges du Fresne, playing the main part of Ludo. What a performance by him who was at the time just a child. It was one of the best movies I've seen in some time. 

If you get a chance check these out . Have you seen any of these films?