XXY (2007)

The world as we have come to know it has not changed in thousands of years. That which was seen as strange, bizarre and unusual in past eras, has come to be known as simply different, but nothing science cannot correct. In the modern world, medical wonders have become common place. Unfortunately, that goes for Freaks as well. Such strange and unusual people are still far from the 'Norm'. They are still vilified in such a way, that most people want to have themselves 'altered' to fit in so as not to frighten children or cause controversy. This film " XXY "is about a ' Hermaphrodite ' called Alex (Ines Efron) a fifteen year old girl who has decided not be surgically corrected into either a male or female. Her parents are deeply troubled with her decision as are her few friends. Her closest friend is a teenage boy named Alvaro (Martin Piroyansky) the son of a surgeon and his wife who have joined Alex's parents on a retreat to the beach. There, it is hoped, Alex will chose a gender which best suits her. Despite the fact that Alex feels drawn to Alvaro, she also is troubled as to why she feels it's wrong. The entire film is dedicated to her struggles. It's confrontational setting brings out the curious in neighborhood boys and girls and causes Alex to wonder if she would be better off dead. The film is very slow to develop, slower still to present a particular direction and hampered by juvenile editing and a static script. The ocean scenery fluctuate's like the constant change of setting and furtive characters with no real fixed direction. It does however create a modem amount of sympathy for the main character, who remains as elusive in her decision as her dark aspirations. A good film for an undemanding audience who desires what the main character wants, resolution. ****

Fmovies: I have seen many films, mostly documentaries, dealing with the intersex subject and this is by far the best treatment of the subject I have yet to see. Yes, it is slow, especially for amerikan sensibilities that expect everything to be fast and are therefore lacking in nutrition. This film was complicated, textured and went far beyond any form of politically correct treatment. I especially loved the character of the father. There was suffering but it was tempered with joy and humour, rather than tell the tragic story of the hermaphroditic 'victim' or 'freak'. Most intersex people are not allowed to choose what happens to their own bodies and those that are have to withstand severe societal pressure to conform to the either/or nature of the beast and define themselves as male or female. Alex made the choice to be both seem logical and obviously s/He was not going to lack for friends and lovers. A rare achievement and a template for further treatments of the subject.

As everybody knows, adolescence is a roller coaster ride for the seven odd years from 12 to 19 (and sometimes even longer). Add the premise of being a 15 year old Hermaphrodite,and things can get even scarier. This is the story of a 15 year old Argentine girl,living on the Argentine coastline. A visit from another couple,with their 15 year old son makes this for an unusual,but sensitively played drama that in the hands of another director would/could be easily turned into crass exploitation. Granted,there is sexual experimentation aplenty,but this is handled with taste (don't expect a John Waters-esquire treatment here---not like in Pink Flamingo's,anyway). This is a well written,directed,filmed & acted out drama about mature subject matter. No rating here (it wasn't submitted for an rating from the M.P.A.A.),but contains some very mature subject matter,including a rather uncomfortable sexual harassment scene).

XXY fmovies. I will not get into any comments on the movie despite the medical facts. I think other people can do and have done this better than me. I just want to say I loved this movie and for who is interested here are some facts why the story is fictional:

Alex seems to have both genders. She seems to have both - a vagina and a penis - and the doctors already noticed that before she was born. That is referred to as real hermaphroditism, but it is actually not a part of Klinefelter's syndrome, which is a so-called "pseudo-hermaphroditism". All children with an extra X chromosome in addition to XY (so 47,XXY-children) are BOYS. The Sex-determing Region of Y is making them develop to boys. So they won't have nor a vagina nor a uterus and until puberty they are usually not even diagnosed.

Boys with Klinefelter's Syndrome usually consult a doctor because of insufficient growth of the testes in puberty. Some get gynecomastia (breast development in boys) and stay with a high voice. The penis and hair usually develop normal.

So as long as they don't have a genetic abnormality on their Y-chromosome they won't be real hermaphrodites, which is a really rare condition anyway and comes along with the normal Karyotypes 46,XX or 46,XY in most cases.

Anyway it is a great movie! Enjoy!

In a small coastal town of fishermen in Uruguay, the biologist Kraken (Ricardo Darín) works and lives in a house at the sea side with his wife Suli (Valeria Bertuccelli) and their aggressive fifteen year-old daughter Alex (Inés Efron).

When Suli welcomes her former best friend Erika (Carolina Peleritti) that comes with her husband, the surgeon Ramiro (Germán Palacios) and their teenage son Alvaro (Martín Piroyansky) to spend a couple of days with her family, Kraken learns that his wife invited Ramiro to operate Alex. Meanwhile Alex and Alvaro feel attracted by each other; however, Alvaro finds that Alex is hermaphrodite and she finds that Alvaro is gay. But the troubled and outcast Alex has the right to choose what gender she wants for her.

"XXY" is a cruel and heartbreaking movie about coming of age, rejection, sexuality and choices. Alex has loving parents but is rejected by the locals and is not sure about her sexuality while Alvaro is gay, rejected by his father and also a confused teenager. The story is very well developed and supported by magnificent performances.

For those like me that do not understand the title "XXY", I searched in Internet and found in Wikipedia that "Klinefelter's Syndrome, 47, XXY, or XXY syndrome is a condition in which a human has an extra X chromosome. While females have an XX chromosomal makeup, and males an XY, affected individuals have at least two X chromosomes and at least one Y chromosome." However, Alex is clearly hermaphrodite and the article does not mention this medical condition for XXY Males. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "XXY"

The chromosomal abnormality of XXY has been labeled as Klinefelter's Syndrome, hermaphroditism, and Intersex. The 'conception' defect results in a child with both male and female organs and when detected at birth usually results in a decision between physicians and parents to surgically alter the child to be one or the other phenotypic assignments - male or female. In this remarkably sensitive film based on a short story 'Cinismo' by Sergio Bizzio and adapted for the screen by writer/director Lucía Puenzo, XXY becomes a story of understanding and acceptance of a diagnosis by both child and parents and the conflicts such gender variation can present.

Alex (Inés Efron) is the XXY patient of the story, having been raised on the isolated coastline of Uruguay as a girl with the aid of supplemental hormones until age 15, the age when her loving Argentinean parents Kraken (Ricardo Darín) and Suli (Valeria Bertuccelli) have decided she should have her 'offending member' removed, allowing her to become a completely phenotypic female. Alex is deeply conflicted about her situation, refuses to take her medications and enjoys being 'one of the boys' in secret. When Alex's parents invite their surgeon friend Ramiro (Germán Palacios) and his wife Erika (Carolina Pelleritti) to their home to advise them on the surgical alternatives, they are accompanied by their artistic son Alvaro (Martín Piroyansky). There is an attraction between Alex and Alvaro and this ultimately results in a crisis that results in the coming of age and self-acceptance of both youngsters. Lucía Puenzo and her fine cast sensitively explore the interaction between parents and children and the coming to grips with choice of identity. This is yet another challenging and rewarding film from Argentina, one that stands alone as a fine movie, but one that also would be wise to add to the film libraries of high school and college students and of patient resource facilities who deal with problems of gender identity. Highly recommended. Grady Harp