Naturally, a film about a beauty pageant is going to feature eye candy. But hey, be authentic in your femininity.” It feels like the most profound message of all. “It won’t be easy.” Her final words of advice are both practical and solemn “Never forget - you are not a real woman and you will never be. “You want be a woman,” the grande dame muses. Strict and punishing advice follows, such as, “I’ll prescribe you a corset that you must never take off, even when sleeping,” and insistence on a smaller shoe size going forward. After a swift and expert appraisal, paired with a gimlet-eyed interrogation, Alex then gets the rundown on everything he will need to do to attain that goal. Of note, is an early scene when our hero consults a ‘ grande dame’ guru on how to pass as a woman throughout the competition. Some scenes, such as the ideological clash between Alex’s house “mother” (the hilarious blowsy landlady) and the icy pageant boss Amanda, feature rapid-fire repartee that is especially scintillating. The lively - often incisively witty - script is so well-crafted that you really get caught up in the high stakes emotionality of it all. Valérie Deseine, the film’s editor, shapes the film with exquisite pacing. We are also granted a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes politics and machinations of successfully mounting this prestigious beauty pageant, stage by stage. Ruben Alves and Elodie Namer’s astute and energetic screenplay addresses all angles and opinions about the contest – views that the competition is sexist, prehistoric and “celebrates the oppression of women” are the flipside of the starry-eyed fantasy dream. The story becomes a rollercoaster ride towards a possibly unattainable victory - the quest to fulfil that long-buried dream of being crowned Miss France. Passing as a woman, and falsifying important documents, Alex is accepted into the competition. It’s the right remark at the right time, prompting our hero to take the plunge. “You’re a beautiful lady,” she observes, presciently. There’s a real intimacy and authenticity in this first brief but crucial scene with the childhood pal, prompting those youthful dreams and long-forgotten aspirations to resurface.Īt the beginning, Alex identifies as an effeminate man until he meets a mysterious, gypsy-like woman in a nightclub while dancing. We get snippets of a tragic past after his parents died young, Alex bounced from one foster family to the next. The supporting characters are mostly painted as over-the-top, exaggerated buffoons.Īn unexpected meeting with a friend from childhood dredges up old memories of a former self. This diverse ‘family’ includes a middle-aged cross dresser, two drug dealing wannabes, Indian sweatshop workers who don’t speak the local language (French) and Alex. We meet a collection of colourful, eccentric characters, no names revealed yet, all of whom reside in what appears to be a group home for society’s misfits run by a blowsy landlady. Alex’s daily life at work and at home (a boarding house) is somewhat lonely and routine. Alex (Alexandre Wetter) is a twenty-something part-time teacher. “Are you insane?” and “You can’t be Miss France – you’re a boy!” The face of the blond child – Alex – flickers with confusion and pain.įlash forward to the present day. A sweet-looking, blond-haired little boy with a barrette in his floppy fringe expresses his dream, “…to be crowned Miss France.” Predictably, the response is gales of laughter and incredulous derision. “I wanna be a boxer” claims a third child. “I wanna play pro-soccer,” states another little girl. “My dream job is repairing broken toys,” declares one little girl wearing a tiara. Young children are seen standing in front of the class announcing their future ambitions. Miss is an inspiring, thought-provoking film that begins with a flashback from our protagonist’s childhood. Androgynous model Alexandre Wetter stars as a person who dreams of conquering the Miss France beauty pageant in Miss, an intimate and romantic drama about gender identity co-written and directed by Ruben Alves.
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