Ma vie en rose (1997)

Directed by: Alain Berliner | 88 minutes | drama | Actors: Michèle Laroque, Jean-Philippe Écoffey, Hélène Vincent, Georges Du Fresne, Daniel Hanssens, Laurence Bibot, Jean-François Gallotte, Caroline Baehr, Julien Rivière, Marie Bunel, Gregory Diallo, Erik Cazals De Fabel, Cristina Barget, Delphine Cadet Morgane Bruna

Belgian director Alain Berliner proves that feel good does not always have to be predictable with ‘Ma vie en rose’. It is therefore feel-good in transvestism: after all, harmony and transsexuality are difficult to reconcile. Berliner inverts a film cliché with his choice of subject to cancel it; this gives him so much freedom that he can turn ‘Ma vie en rose’ into a fairy tale. A brightly colored fairy tale about innocent transsexual dreams and the love of parents for their child, an underexposed aspect in the film world focused on romantic love.

Based on many other themes, it would have led to an intolerable film, a sugary sweet sticky acid that you can’t get from between your teeth, but rest assured: ‘Ma vie en rose’ is more like a Napoleon, the candy that takes the sour and the sweet. perfectly united in itself. After a relatively light first half, in which the ‘problem’ Ludovic is tackled in a humorous way, the film gradually turns into a drama, with good and evil not always as opponents. Berliner does not expose the negative sides of social adjustment simply by portraying the narrow-mindedness of the neighbors in a bad light. Even Ludovic’s parents succumb to the social pressure caused by the little boy’s transsexuality, which is feared at school and sports club, as a result of which the film transcends the socially critical approach and touches on the most deeply personal: the right to one’s own identity.

The inner struggle of the parents – who brutally show Ludovic that he is ruining their lives – is recognizable and believable and gives the film the right dramatic cachet. Of course this is only possible with good actors and nothing but praise for Michèle Laroque (Hanna) and Jean-Philippe Écoffey (Pierre). However, it is Georges Du Fresne (Ludovic) who holds the key to the film’s success. Berliner lets him be a child as a child is, does not conjure too heavy emotions on the boy’s face, but lets him dissociate, disappear into another world; at the same time, he lets Ludovic handle the hostility of the environment with the resilience of a child. This fact and the contrast of a cheerful fantasy world with a tragic reality give the film the right tone. Won a Golden Globe in 1998 for best foreign film.