FILM

France 2011 82 mins Subtitles Dir: Celine Sciamma Starring: Zoe Heran, Jeanne Disson, Malonn Levana, Sophie Cattani, Mathieu Demy

French director Celine Sciamma's first feature, 'Water Lillies', was the kind of film that could never be made in this country without attracting paedo-hysteria. Four years on, her smaller-scale follow-up operates in similar coming-of-age territory, although the participants are a few years younger. Once again, there's no shortage of wholly innocent nudity in this beautifully photographed, superbly acted and sensitively directed gender confusion drama.

Having moved with her parents (Cattani, Demy) and younger sister Jeanne (Levana) to the lush countryside on the outskirts of Paris, androgynous, wilful, crop-haired 10-year-old Laure (Heran) takes the opportunity to reinvent herself during the long summer before her first term at school. Unbeknown to the rest of the family, she decides to pass herself off as a boy named Mikael when she befriends Lisa (Disson), who quickly becomes besotted. Like a pre-pubescent Teena Brandon, resourceful Laure even finds a use for plasticine that would make Nick Park blush, fashioning herself a brightly coloured penis and stuffing it down the front of her cut-off bathing costume for some rough'n'tumble with the local boys. Clearly, this is not a deception that can be sustained for long.

One of the strengths of young Zoe Heran's excellent performance is the way she portrays Laure's awareness of her changing body, examining her wiry frame critically in the mirror as she looks for any sign that might betray her gender. Once again, Sciamma demonstrates an extraordinary ability to get truthful, unselfconscious performances from her child actors, who are often shot in intimate close-up. Refreshingly, the tension at the film's heart is never allowed to overwhelm its empathetic tone. Lesbian audiences will also have fun debating just how much pouty Lisa intuits about her 'boyfriend' without letting on. (Robin Askew)

Website www.facebook.com/tomboy.movie

Opens September 16

Copyright Robin Askew 2011