Watch Girl

"Girl," directed by Lukas Dhont, is a Belgian drama film that follows the life of a 15-year-old transgender girl named Lara, who aspires to become a professional ballerina. The film stars Victor Polster in the lead role of Lara, along with Arieh Worthalter as her supportive father, and Oliver Bodart as her ballet partner. The movie starts with Lara and her father moving to a new city so that Lara can enroll in a prestigious ballet academy. Lara is determined to pursue her passion for dance despite her gender identity struggle. She feels like her body is a barrier to her dreams, and she wants to undergo gender-affirmation surgery to become a female completely.

The film captures the emotional and physical pain that Lara goes through as she tries to push past her body's limitations. She endures physical struggles in ballet class, as puberty blockers harm her strength, endurance and overall health, despite the fact that she is a tremendously talented dancer. Meanwhile, she must face bullying and discrimination from her classmates who are upset that she has been selected to perform the lead role in the upcoming show.

Apart from the ballet school, Lara also seeks treatment from a support group he is part of, and goes to a hospital for hormone therapy which is portrayed in the film as rather brutal with shots to the belly. However, despite the physical distress of treatment, Lara is motivated by her love for dance and the promise of the surgery that she so desperately hopes for. She tries to push through the adversity in her life, even as she struggles with her self-image and her peers' constant scrutiny.

As the film progresses, Lara's relationships with her father and her ballet partner become central to the story. Her father is a kind and supportive figure throughout the movie and understands the challenges his daughter is fighting through. Lara also develops an intimate relationship with her male ballet partner that leads her on a somewhat tumultuous journey of self-discovery.

The acting in the film is exceptional, especially from Polster's portrayal of Lara, conveying her longing and sense of self, and the toll it takes on her physical and emotional health. While "Girl" deals with a highly specific transgender experience that will be difficult for some audience members to grasp fully, at its core, the film explores universal themes of identity, adolescence, and family relationships. It provides a rare glimpse into the challenges of young transgender people, including the complex physical and emotional effects of puberty suppression and the desire for gender-affirming surgeries that can yield transformative results.

The cinematography and direction are also noteworthy, with Dhont being able to convey subtlety in moments of high drama and keeping the focus on the emotions and the journey Lara is going through. It's a courageous, moving film that is both visually stunning and familiar to young people from all walks of life.

Overall, "Girl" is a heart-wrenching, thought-provoking film that offers an honest, insightful look at the intersection between gender identity and adolescent self-determination. The movie offers a powerful story about a character who refuses to accept the ways in which her body and society seek to limit her potential. The film is a must-watch for anyone interested in artfully made character-driven drama, and its central message about perseverance and hope is undeniably inspiring.

Girl is a 2019 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 49 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.2 and a MetaScore of 73.