Reviews

This film is about a soldier falling in love with a transgendered female performer at a club. He met her in the club and got addicted to her at the first sight. They then kept a secret relationship between each other. However, homosexual people are banned in the army. The main character, Barry, refused to admit that he had a transgendered partner and struggled very hard. Meanwhile, his roommate Fisher, had a special feeling toward him. His trans phobic feeling is hidden in his heart, at the same time he is jealous of the couple being in such a good relationship. He manipulated Glover, who also had a bit of psychological problem, to show his strength by hitting Barry. At the end, Barry got hit seriously by Glover and died.

This film strongly criticizes the American law of banning homosexuality in the army. At the time of when this movie was made, homosexuality was still banned, until recently President Obama abolished the regulation. Personally, I think the original intention of this law is to avoid any relationship among the soldiers in the army, as all of them are male. However, it turns out to be discrimination in some way. Homosexual people can be as strong as the other soldiers and should be treated the same.

This film depicts the story of Fernanda, who is born as a male but considers "herself" as a female. She migrated to Italy to work as a prostitute, hoping to earn money for her sex reassignment surgery. There she met Gianni, who fell in love with her later despite knowing her true identity. In the end, she chose to leave him and stay being a prostitute because she knows that they cannot have the future that Gianni wants.

The story is sad, and it gives the audience a feeling that it is very realistic. The music used in the film matches well with the scenes, it works to give more sentimental feeling to the piece. The opening scene is shocking, and it shows Fernanda's extremely low self-esteem. This scene already hints that something unusual is going on in the film, and it prepares the audience for that. The plot is organized in a nice way, which progresses well to fit Fernanda's change of mind, from eager for SRS to finally willing to stay as a woman trapped in a man's body. She sacrifice a lot for Gianni, and it is very painful for her to make the decision.

In general, the movie is a good one. It is more explicit than the others, since sexual scenes takes up quite a large portion of the film. This may be referred to the cultural extent, as stereotypically Europeans gives others a feeling that they are more open to sex. Acting is good, and I think the casting is perfect as the actress is a transsexual herself. She has been through all the real struggles and she is basically a different Fernanda. It is not that much acting for her, and I think this is the main element which makes this piece a good one.

This film depicts the story of a man who struggles to have sex reassignment surgery in his fifties. Despite his wife and family's opposition, he is determined to have his sex change. He confesses that since he was young, he felt like he was born in the wrong body and he thinks he is a woman. The story is simple, but in a way not very realistic. It seems too sudden for Roy to become so eager to live the rest of his life as a woman, despite the 25-years of marriage and 50+ years of hiding. Personally, I think the story will be more realistic if scenes of his past history of eagerness and struggles to be a woman are shown.

Yet, acting is fantastic, especially for Irma, which compensates for the weakness of the story. She cannot accept the fact in the beginning when she just finds out that her husband wants to have SRS. She accepts gradually and even supports him, to me, it is a very considerate act. Audiences properly burst into tears for the immeasurable love the couple has for each other. The ending is vaguely presented, and the consequence after the surgery is absent. I think this is done on purpose so the story leaves a question to the audience which is " What result do you think the couple deserve?" It is not the best ending, but may be the most decent one.

In general, the film is a good one. Bottomless love is strongly emphasized and the acting makes the film works, despite of the not very realistic story.

This film is about the story of a trans-gender kick boxer. It is mainly about how he recognizes what he really wants and his inner psychological struggles. Acting of the main character is fascinating, he agonizes hard to live the way he really wants, and he is brave to fight for it. Physically, he is a strong kick boxer, he practices hard in order to be able to fight in Bangkok. However, deep inside his heart, he takes himself as a "her". "She" likes putting on make-up, dress in girlish clothes and talks softly. The contrast is well depicted throughout the film, the audiences are closely drawn to the emotion of Toom, and feel what Toom actually feel. Music is cleverly used to steer the mood. In addition, lighting matches well to show the ups and downs of the character's sentiment. For example, when Toom was in the ring, he feels proud and the whole scene is brightly lit up.

The film is recommended to anyone except kids, since they may be too young to understand the complicated struggles and tension. All in all, the story is encouraging and reminds people to stay strong even difficulties are waiting ahead. Everyone should try their best to live the life they want.

This film is a comedy drama which depicts the struggles of a transvestite man in his thirties. He constantly suppresses his obsession due to the social attitude towards this habit. Transvestite is a rather complicated topic and the one portrayed in this film is just one of the many examples. The story line is set up in a way in which the audiences are led to think in the same way as the ex-wife of Gerald. Tension is built up and the story gradually progresses to the truth that he is indeed a transvestite. Editing is nicely used to uncover the truth step by step. Acting of the two main characters is fantastic, they are able to bring the audiences to their position and look from their perspectives. The break down scene of Geraldine when Monica drove "her" home from the police station is so touching that almost makes me cry.

However, a coin has two sides; and of course, this film has its weaknesses. It is confusing sometimes for the audiences to understand the logic of Genrald. For instance, he could not have sex relationship with Monica being Gerald but he could do it with his ex-wife. This is not logical and is hard to get. Moreover, the ending of the film is vague and it does not provide solutions to the family he had in the beginning of the film.

Overall, this film is recommended to those who are interested in the gender issues. Since the psychological process of people who feels not belonging to his/ her original gender is rather complex, this film may act as a doorway to comprehend the intricate topic of gender.