233

EVENINGS OUT

Exploring a mother-daughter relationship with Dad

Camille (Marianne Mercier) takes comfort in the arms of her father Marie-Pierre, played by Denis Mercier.

MAY 19, 1995 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Lage Ba

Pussy

Thursday May 25th

Singing Her HITS..

"French Bitch" & "Kiss"

TOURETTE

The Sex of the Stars Directed by Paule Baillargeon

Reviewed by Nancy Marcus

The Sex of the Stars, a film by Quebec actress, director and scriptwriter Paule Baillargeon, explores the taboos of unconventional sexual development and identity through a plot involving a girl's relationship with her post-operative transsexual father.

Even while exploring themes which challenge traditional sexual mores and norms, the film leaves one wondering why the development of sexuality must so often be depicted as a tragic, Freudian abstract rivalry between our emotional sexual selves and our "rational" sides. Director Biallargeon succeeds in presenting transsexuality in a favorable light, as no less complex or "abnormal" than the sexual development of a pubescent heterosexual girl.

The film in fact is less about presenting categories of sexuality as distinct, separately valid orientations, and more about presenting sexuality as the complex, fluid animal that it is.

The most unattractive character in the film is the heterosexual mother and ex-wife of Marie-Pierre, who reacts to her exhusband's sexual transformation with kneejerk defensiveness and hostility.

The 13-year-old daughter Camille, in con-

trast, loves her "papa," refusing to see his transformation into a woman as a loss of her father.

The strongest conflict, however, is not between the characters per se, but evident in the inner struggles within the characters themselves. Marie-Pierre, aka Papa, formerly Pierre-Henri, a renowned scientist, is engaged in a battle of choice between being a woman, a scientist, and a good parent.

Unfortunately, the choice is presented as absolute, and the writers of Sex of the Stars seem insistent that Marie-Pierre must choose between these roles; that one cannot be queer and family-oriented at the same time, or even worse, one cannot be a woman and a scientist at the same time.

Likewise, the daughter is forced to make similar choices. She can either be daddy's girl, a star-exploring tomboy, or she can become a "normal" teenaged girl who gives up her telescopes and academic pursuits for makeup and boys.

The development of characters in the film is satisfyingly rich, but the ending left me bitterly disappointed, as characters are forced to make false choices about their identities and relationships, rather than integrating their complex natures and embracing the wholeness of their selves.

The Sex of the Stars will be shown one time only on Saturday, May 20, at 9:20 pm at the Cleveland Cinematheque, 11141 East Blvd.

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