Ma Vie en Rose [My Life in Pink] (28 May 1997)
directed by Alain Berliner
starring Georges Du Fresne, Michèle Laroque, Jean-Philippe Ecoffey, Hélène Vincent, Daniel Hanssens, Laurence Bibot, Jean-François Gallotte, Caroline Baehr, Julien Riviére, Marie Bunel, Gregory Diallo, Erik Cazals De Fabel, Cristina Barget
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MPAA rating: Studio: Canal+, Centre National de la Cinématographie, Cofimage 8, Eurimages, Freeway Films Script: Alain Berliner, Chris Vander Stappen Music: Dominique Dalcan, Zazie Running time: 88 minutes Tags: Comedy; cross dressing; Drama; Foreign Film; gender identification Tactical strength: [5/10]
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for brief strong language
Seven-year-old Ludovic (Georges Du Fresne) believes he's a girl. Somehow when the stork delivered him, Ludovic's second X chromosome fell in the garbage, leaving him with a male body. He knows that as he grows up he will become a woman. My Life in Pink studies the comic -- and occasionally tragic -- events in the life of Ludovic's family.
Pierre Fabre (Jean-François Gallotte), Ludovic's father, has a new job and has moved the family into a swanky new suburb. The neighborhood has a party to welcome the Fabre's, and Pierre proudly introduces his wife Hanna (Michèle Laroque) and four children: Thom (Gregory Diallo), Jean (Erik Cazals de Fabel), Zoé (Cristina Barget), and Ludovic, who appears in heavy red lipstick and a frilly pink party dress. To Ludovic, nothing seems unusual about putting on a dress and makeup. He knows about the differences between boys and girls, but because he believes his anatomy covers a girl inside, he doesn't see anything wrong with dressing as a girl and even planning his eventual marriage to the neighbor boy Jérôme (Julien Rivière).
The comedy in My Life in Pink comes from putting Ludovic's innocence in direct conflict with social expectations for a genetic male. We laugh at the stress his parents feel, and all the uncomfortable situations, such as Pierre at work with his boss who lives in the same neighborhood. The Fabres take Ludovic to a pyschiatrist, who eventually tells the Fabres that they just accept their son and not try to force him into any changes. When Pierre loses his job because of Ludovic, the family moves to a much smaller house in a less attractive neighborhood and Ludovic realizes that his cross-dressing has caused his family harm. Ludovic determines to dress and act as a boy. We don't know if he just wants to wait to grow up as a woman, but he clearly make a sacrifice of his own behaviors for the sake of his family.
In spite of the situation comedy, My Life in Pink has a strong streak of pathos. Ludovic doesn't understand why anyone wouldn't accept him as a girl, and he only gets confused at his family's outbursts toward him. We come to feel terrible for the crushing blows innocent Ludovic takes from everyone around him. By the end, it seems that as a self-defense mechanism, Ludovic has decided to conform as best he can.
I have to praise director Alain Berliner for never crossing the story over from one about gender identity to one about homosexuality. At seven years old, Ludovic doesn't think about the sexuality of his situations. He merely identifies with girlness more than boyness. You can tell that several of the adults in Ludovic's life do worry about the implications of Ludovic's actions and they present homophobic reactions, which only confuse Ludovic, since he doesn't see anything wrong with his self-identification with girls.
Without the comedy, you would have to view My Life in Pink as a tragedy. No characters die in the Shakespearian sense of tragedy, but Ludovic clearly loses a great deal of innocence. Unfortunately, the comedy detracts from the seriousness of Ludovic's situation. I think Berliner wanted to bring some awareness to the issues of gender identity, but the comedy aspects distract from the message. We end up feeling bad for Ludovic, and although we never laugh directly at Ludovic, since he ends up with no solution for his problem, all the laughter seems taken at his expense.
