This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

It's a finely executed film about gawky Iñes Efron. She's a fifteen-year-old girl, caught in the middle of her growth spurt, who has to decide whether to keep taking her "corticoids" and remain female, or to quit taking them, undergo surgery, and "masculinize." I think the title -- XXY -- may be misleading. My understanding is that XXY individuals are males but perhaps with less facial hair and smaller penises, and they're usually infertile.Efron is definitely a young girl -- and what a girl! She's not beautiful but is intensely attractive. From certain angles, with her short haircut, she could almost pass for a high-school boy in, say, 1970. But mostly she looks like the disturbed girl she truly is. She has one of the most expressive faces I've seen in years.The movie makes it clear that she has the external reproductive organs of both sexes. There is no full frontal nudity, though there's a surprising amount of topless footage, but she's seen urinating on the beach, standing up and facing away from the camera. And when she gets horny, her impulse is to sodomize the boy she's with. If I'm not mistaken, the penis in cases like this is not much more than an enlarged clitoris. There is still some physical material that's left unclear, but it's nothing compared to Hillary Swank's dalliance with Chloë Sevigny in "Boys Don't Cry." The movie begins a bit sluggishly because we're not immediately introduced to the characters and don't know exactly what the hell is going on. Over time, we gather that two families share a beach house where they try to protect and heal endangered species of sea turtles. Efron's father is a butcher, and he has a face made for the camera.The other family head is a doctor, a thoughtful and quiet man, who suggests that surgery would solve Efron's problem. The penis would be removed. (Ewww.) But that's kind of beside the point. The point is that Efron must make up her own mind. Her present state is intolerable. Those who know about her condition ridicule her. Some young rascals try to rape her, using what there is of her vagina. She decides to discard her pills and grow up into a man. It's a tough row to hoe, no matter what choice she makes.It was shot at a remote beach location in Argentina. I somehow always figured Argentina for semi-tropical climate and plenty of sunshine, but this beach cottage is pretty lonely and the photographer effectively captures the almost sepulchral moodiness of the place. The wind moans, the sand is an uninviting color, there is a constant overcast, and it looks chilly all the time. We could be looking at the Baltic Sea.There are some elements of the story that I'm kind of skipping over for reasons of space and time. Efron sodomizes her young friend, who is attracted to her, and afterwards he admits that he enjoyed it. This kid deserves some scrutiny. How about no surgery for Efron and some surgery for her boyfriend, replacing his penis with a blind pouch. It works.But if some of it is vague, or even medically absurd, there's no escaping the fact that it's fine film, made for a mature audience.

Complexity and Its BirthLife on Earth began in the ocean. In the depths of this primordial soup where nature conceived of the first and the subsequent, the natural was born. Eventually, man and woman was born. XY and XX was born. Man and woman was natural. But does natural also mean normal? If natural creation is the source of everything that is a creature, does it follow that every natural creature is normal? Thus, the complex was also born.It is fitting that in the chronicle of Alex's life, the diegetic beginning of the film begins with the beginning of everything, the ocean. The opening credits are shown within the confines of the lulling blue mother of all that is all. The movie will show again and again these motifs, saluting the ultimate life giver.A Complex Life/Love/Human StoryIt is quite obvious that intersexuality presents a host of dizzying conundrums about biology and society. The movie fulfills this preliminary requirement. Brilliantly, the film goes beyond. The beauty of XXY is that it carries its complexity from chronicling the development of Alex's biological life to chronicling the biology of Alex's love life. Complexity runs through the movie like complexity runs through the fractals of nature. When you think you know what's going to happen, an even more delicate and captivating development happens that provides you with more insights and more questions about the characters. One is rarely black or white, bad or good, ugly or beautiful, XY or XX.Complexity: What to Make of It?Life is complex. The filmmakers have enough fortitude to present to us that both blessings and curses are bestowed. Joy to those who are fortunate; woe to those who are unlucky. What will happen to those who are accepted? Those who are loved? Those who are rejected? Those who are despised?

XXY is a story about a 13 years old child called Alex and the people around him/her. Alex is hermaphroditic, which means his/her gene is XXY and he/she has both male and female genital. Alex's dad is a marine biologist, and he decided to move the family to a village near sea. Alex's family made him/her intake female hormone to remain a girl – until adolescent, when Alex stopped taking it for reason unexplained in the movie. Without the hormone, Alex's male aggressive tendency began to rise. She broke her friend's nose for leaking Alex's secret to the villagers. Alex's mother invited her family friend, Ramiro to stay with them for a few day in the hope that Ramiro as a plastic surgeon will "normalize" Alex. Ramiro brought his family along. He has a 16 years old, buck-toothed son Alvaro whom Ramiro thought has gay tendency. Alex showed her desire of sex to Alvaro quite frankly, and eventually they had anal sex with Alex being the one penetrating. However, they got interrupted when Alex's dad, Kraken, walked by and spotted them. They separated, but later Alvaro committed to Alex that he liked it. Several villager boys found Alex alone, and forcibly pulled her pants down to inspect her double genital. They attempted to abuse her sexually, but were stopped by the friend who gave away Alex's secret. Kraken thought of reporting it to the police but didn't because he was concerned about the whole village knowing Alex's unique sexual identity. Kraken visited a hermaphroditic man who has a family. The man told Kraken his past, and encouraged him to allow Alex to choose her sexual identity. Later, when asked, Alex wondered, "what if there isn't a decision to make?"Alvaro's family is leaving. Alvaro bid farewell with Alex in a clouded mood. Alex asked if Alvaro regret for not seeing her again, or haven't seen her penis. Alvaro didn't answer, and Alex showed him her penis. Alvaro still said nothing.There are many psychological conflicts in this movie. Alex herself is in puberty, and as her sexual hormone begin to change, her action became more aggressive and masculine. Those personality and sexual identity changes lead to confusion of sexual identity, of the answer to "is it a boy or a girl?" Many people, including Alex's mother, consider her abnormal. In such situation, Alex will grow doubt of herself and hatred to the environment. In Erkinson's psychosocial development, adolescent development is about one's identity, so Alex will face role confusion in the rest of his/her life. Alex's father, in contrast, believes that Alex doesn't have a problem. She is perfect in his eyes. Thus, he protect her from "hearing every idiot's opinion" and give her freedom to decide her sex. But there comes the more compelling problem: Why is such decision necessary? Why is the question "Is it a boy or a girl?" Alex realized that being him/herself is more important than what others think. This indicates that Alex is having a successful adolescence, even more successful than his father expected. The movie didn't give answer to Alex's sexual role, but suggested that the role is not just simply male or female. Abnormal is an opinion, not a fact.Alvaro's sexual role is also different from majority. He had sex with Alex, but acted as the role of "woman" and enjoyed it. This indicates that Alvaro is homosexual. Ironically, his father Ramiro talked to Alvaro and stated coldly that he's not satisfied with his son, and the only thing he's glad about him is that he's not a fag. While the talk between Alex and her father Kraken demonstrate a successful adolescence development, the talk between Alvaro and his father still leave Alvaro in confusion. He craves to have his father satisfied, but is unable to do so. Since his father wants him to be heterosexual, Alvaro wants himself to love Alex as a girl too. However, Alex knows that he doesn't. In the final scene, Alex asks if Alvaro like her or her body with penis, and showed him her male genital. Alvaro didn't say one word after the questioning. His development is still dazed and confused, not because he is homosexual, but because other people, especially his dad's opinion.

This is the powerfully moving story of Alex, played by Ines Efron, a teen looking for acceptance and belonging in an often cruel and unjust world. XXY is chromosome combination for a person having been born with both male and female reproductive organs. Previously know as hermaphrodites, but now use the more P.C. term intersexed. Any time a movie goes into this territory it has a chance of become exploitive and unrealistic. Director Lucia Puenzo's is conscious of this and really hits home on many universal themes such as identity, parental love and belonging.Alex is fifteen years old and has been living as a girl all of her life. She takes hormones and supplements to keep developing this way. Her parents are obviously very protective of her secret and have had to move around a lot to avoid the unrelentingly curious public. After yet another move to a small coastal town in Uruguay, Alex seems to have had enough and stops taking her meds. A more aggressive Alex starts to emerge and after a fight with her best friend (Vando, a boy) she falls into an abyss of sexual confusion and loss of identity.Alex's parents could have elected have a surgery at her birth to "correct" the situation, but her father Kraken refused, simply calling her "perfect". Kraken is marine biologist by trade and a model of pure love and tolerance for Alex. Alex's mother is hurt and disappointed that she has decided to stop trying to become a woman and fears what might become of her. They invite a surgeon and his family to their home for a few days to get a sort of second opinion. They have a teen son named Alvaro who is also trying to find his own way.Alex asks Alvaro point blank if he will have sex with her, but he declines as he is dealing with some issues of his own. He suspects she is different but not to what extent. When Alex forces the issue and they finally get together, Alvaro is in for quite a surprise. Kraken accidentally witness part of this and his deepest fears start to surface. The fallout from this event is emotionally painfully and embarrassing for all of them. When a group of teen boys hear a rumor about Alex and decide to find out for themselves we get one of the more heartbreaking scenes in the film. They hunt her down on the beach and hold her down while one of the boys pulls down her shorts. She is eventually saved by Vando and taken back home. Kraken is conflicted as to weather or not to got to the police as it could bring even more unwanted attention, so he leaves it up to Alex.Alex and Alvaro's relationship allows them to use each other in order to find out who they really are. Alvaro confirms that fact that he is gay and must deal with his intolerant father, which is another gut wrenching scene. As Alvaro and his family get ready to leave, he confronts Alex about his feeling for whoever she decides to become. Alex is skeptical about his motives and asks if he wants "too see" and he leaves it up to her. She shows him and the film thankfully holds back the urge to give the audience a sort of genital money shot and leaves it to our imaginations. This film is beautiful, tragic, hopeful and so many other things. It is a must see and is available through Netflix Watch Instantly