Review: 'Ma Vie En Rose' dressed for success

March 3, 1998
Web posted at: 6:32 p.m. EST (2332 GMT)

From Reviewer Paul Tatara

(CNN) -- It never fails to make me laugh when someone tells me, "I only like foreign films," as if people in Europe have some innate understanding of filmmaking techniques that are beyond the grasp of mere Americans.

Frankly, I've seen a truckload of lousy European films in my time, so I've tried to put my finger on exactly what these folks are getting at when they so vehemently pledge their international allegiance.

Self-aggrandizing cultural perceptions aside, what I think they're really responding to is the fact that a great many foreign films are based on human frailties, as opposed to the winner-take-all empowerment of the American product.

There was a time when Americans did the frailty thing as well as anyone, but it was soon discovered that it's impossible to sell 700,000 sets of "Midnight Cowboy" bed sheets, so that went out the window.

The latest French film being clutched to America's most sensitive bosoms is "Ma Vie En Rose" ("My Life in Pink") and, for once, it's pretty much worth the clutching.

This is the story of Ludovic Fabre (the amazingly accomplished Georges DuFresne), a 7-year-old who is quite innocently convinced that he's a little girl trapped in a little boy's body.

His father (Daniel Hanssens) has just landed a good job and has moved his family to a beautiful suburb, so he's a tad bit annoyed when his youngest child appears at a huge welcome party for everyone in the neighborhood wearing a fancy dress and sporting lipstick.

Ludovic's mom (Michele Laroque) sees the display as a passing whim on her son's part, and treats him, initially anyway, with great tenderness and compassion. That all changes, though, when Ludovic's penchant toward cross-dressing, playing with dolls, and proposing to male classmates ends up getting the family ostracized in their shiny new neighborhood.

Then things take a darker turn, as the kid's behavior grows more erratic and he's shuffled off temporarily to live with his more understanding grandmother.

One of my all-time favorite movies is a little-known gem from 1991 called "Toto le Heros" (check it out, if you're one of the chosen few who often agrees with what I write.) "Ma Vie En Rose" has the same enchanting look as "Toto," with colors that seem to have been brightened by a giant box of Fab. Near-glowing reds, yellows, and blues dominate the sets, and director Alain Berliner takes these visions a step further when he enters Ludovic's mind for some enchanting fantasy sequences.

Ludovic's favorite TV show is hosted by a radiant blonde named Pam, who flies over a dollhouse world, sprinkling flowers and sparkling glitter on the virtuous creatures below. Ludovic (who has determined that he's actually a "boygirl") fixates on the network-contrived Pam as a logical extension of his point of view, and she dreamily guides him through the rough spots in his life.

All of the performances are nice, although the sunny-ness with which a lot of Ludovic's displays are received doesn't really gibe with the reality of the situation. It seems more likely that the father's less-than-perceptive response would be the standard, but most of the people who come into contact with the "boygirl" are initially charmed by him.

He is charming (incredibly charming, as a matter of fact), but the kind of intolerance that finally develops would probably be the starting point in real life. Real life, though, as I've already noted, is not of much concern to Berliner, who (along with Chris Vander Stappen) also wrote the screenplay.

There are tons of brilliant, unknown artists who work on films and are generally ignored by the average movie-goer. The secret weapon of "Ma Vie En Rose" is production designer Veronique Melery, the person who's responsible for designing the sets and (along with Berliner, I'm sure) giving the film its interesting, near-cartoonish look.

The houses in this suburb, though not overtly distorted, seem like they might be inhabited by the Simpsons, and the landscape in Ludovic's dreams resembles a cross between Barbie's backyard and a playing board for some sort of child's game.

Along with little DuFresne's alarmingly genuine performance, I think this is really what the movie is all about. You exit the theater yearning for a more perfect, more beautiful world, where boys can be boys or even girls if that's how they want to do it, and the neighborhood won't be thrown into a barely explainable uproar.

"Ma Vie En Rose" is in French with English subtitles. The film isn't rated, but even with the somewhat risqué subject matter it would probably get a PG-13. 88 quick minutes, proving that if the French have anything on American directors, it's knowing when to quit.

Related site:

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• Sony: Ma Vie En Rose

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