Tomboy

Since we are dealing with fresh-faced tweens, we are spared the gender histrionics to be found in the likes of The Crying Game or Boys Don't Cry. Those are indeed bigger films. But sometimes small things can pay off quite nicely.

Tomboy is a lovely reminder that the French have long been famous for a quite different sort of film-about children.

Brisk, precisely observed, and bracingly non-preachy in its examination of a very tricky subject.

Writer and director Celine Sciamma adorns the thorny dilemma with resonant allusions to gender roles...

Modestly conceived and executed.

The film's greatest accomplishment is writer/director Celine Sciamma's stunning ability to draw natural, believable performances from her adolescent cast, who never hit a false note in this moving film.

Growth is painful, and Laure/Mickaël’s journey is no different in Tomboy.

All the children in the cast act like real kids, not Hollywood stereotypes&#59; they can be in turn sweet, cruel, petty and forgiving.

Strikingly fresh and uncontrived, lively with wonderful performances.

As with her debut, Celine Sciamma has a knack for getting amazing performances out of her young actors. Particularly, Zoé Héran is a revelation. Her portrayal of a confused child (not of her sexuality but the sexual politics) is touching and deeply felt.