Every month Bil Antoniou curates an article picking a collection from The Criterion Channel and sorts its contents into categories – Must-See, Worthy, For The Curious and Skip It. This month the collection was LGBTQ+ Favourites.
Tomboy (Celine Scimma, 2011)
Dakota Arseneault: Sciamma had her international breakthrough with 2014’s Girlhood, found wider acclaimed with 2019′s Portrait of a Lady on Fire and followed it up with 2021’s Petit Maman, but film lovers likely first caught wind of her talents with 2011’s Tomboy. The film follows young Laure, a prepubescent girl whose family moves to a new home where she decides to introduce herself to the neighbourhood kids as Mickäel, a boy. The local children accept it at face value as Laure exclusively dresses in what can be described as “boy’s clothing” and has her hair cut so short she looks no different than the other boys. As an adult, we know that eventually things will come to a head, and will likely be a traumatic revelation to both Laure and the other children. As Mickäel, he plays soccer with the other boys and even takes his shirt off to be on the “skins” team. The one other girl in the group, Lisa, notices that Mickäel isn’t like other boys and develops a crush on him. Things start to get dicey when all the boys freely urinate outside or when Laure makes a makeshift penis to stuff in her bathing suit. The film is fascinating as it can be read in so many different ways. Is Laure a transgender man and struggling with their gender identity? Is Laure a lesbian because she gets absolutely giddy when Lisa kisses Mickäel. Is Laure just as the title might suggest, a “Tomboy,” a young girl who prefers to dress more masculine and roughhouse with boys over more conventional girly things? As the discussion on gender identity and sexuality continues to evolve, this film continues to be more prescient, especially considering most queer people knew from an early age they were different from their peers but struggled with labels.
I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (Patricia Rozema, 1987)
Dakota Arseneault: Rozema’s debut feature film is light, breezy, and a joy to watch. The film stars Sheila McCarthy (recently seen in the Oscar-winning Women Talking) as Polly Vandersma, a flighty and clumsy woman prone to wild bursts of imaginative daydreaming. Polly is a Girl Friday (office assistant) hired through a temp agency to work at an art gallery owned by Paule Baillargeon’s Gabrielle. Despite Polly’s awkwardness and general terrible job at being a secretary, Gabrielle seems to take a liking to her and asks Polly to work for her full time. One day, a woman comes to visit Gabrielle and when Polly catches them kissing, her world is turned upside down and she suddenly realizes that she is in love with her boss . This movie isn’t about how to get the woman of your dreams but more so an awakening of sorts for Polly, who talks about having dated men but never really found one she wanted to stay with (a not so subtle flag some queer people ignore before coming to terms with their sexuality). The film jumps between the story of Polly working for Gabrielle along with creative and unique daydream sequences that show us how Polly’s mind works, and also with video footage of Polly confessing her innermost thoughts, clearly recorded after the events being shown in the film. The film is a landmark Canadian classic with at one point it appeared on the Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time as organized by TIFF. McCarthy is whimsical and a delight to watch, as you wonder where her mind will take viewers next. It is a must watch for Canadian cinephiles. Also: did you know that at one point, Sheila McCarthy was my acting teacher?
