02/25/98
MOVIE REVIEW: Ma Vie en Rose
Painful prejudice crushes an ideal world

By JIM SEAVOR
Journal-Bulletin Arts Writer

*** (out of five)
Starring Georges Du Fresne, Michele Laroque, Jean-Philippe Ecoffey. Written by Chris vander Stappen and Alain Berliner, directed by Alain Berliner. NR, adult themes. Running time: 89 minutes.

Ma Vie en Rose (My Life in Pink) tackles a tough subject -- prejudice and discrimination -- with an uneasy combination of fantasy and reality that doesn't shirk the side of darkness.

The film, winner of the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film, opens in a world filled with bright-colored clothing, shocking pink garage doors and sunflowers at the end of the walk. Munchkinland without the Munchkins. This is a world filled with friendly neighbors and love.

This is also a world that can be torn apart by anything different, and young Ludovic is different.

This 7-year-old boy is convinced he's a girl. It isn't a problem for him; he's convinced his gender will change. But after he turns up at a neighborhood party wearing something from his sister's closet, it is a problem for his family and neighbors.

It becomes even more of a problem when word gets out that Ludovic plans on marrying the boy next door. The boy doesn't seem upset by the prospect, but he's the son of Ludovic's father's boss -- and the boss does not like the idea at all.

The colorful and ideal world crumbles as Ma Vie en Rose deals with the roles people are expected to play in life and how anything that does not follow the plan is to be put down.

When Ludovic brings his Pam and Ben dolls (a French Barbie and Ken) to show and tell in school, the teacher quickly assumes he wants to be like Ben. Guess again. When the real world gets to be too much to deal with, Ludovic will close his eyes and enter Pam's world.

He's welcomed there, at one point flying over his house like a member of the Darling family in Peter Pan. That fantasy world helps ease the pressure of Ma Vie en Rose for the audience as well as its young star, but it's called on, finally, for one too many twists.

But Ludovic can keep the real world away only so long, and that world becomes a hard one for the youngster and his family. The boy Ludovic loves won't sit next to him at school because he's been told that, if he does, he'll go to hell. Ludovic falls under increasing pressure to change and play manly games. His family is shunned and torn apart.

Ma Vie en Rose does not present a pretty picture of the world -- although it does manage to suggest a better future.

Georges du Fresne is one of those thoroughly natural child actors European directors find, while Hollywood still seems determined to go for the terminally cute. He is serious, rather shy and totally right for Ludovic.

Helene Vincent is loving as his grandmother, while Michele Laroque and Jean-Philippe Ecoffey handle the difficult roles of his parents. Laroque, especially, has rough terrain to cover. She has to go from tolerance to breakdown and still have room for an abrupt shift at the end. She's believable through it all.

Director Alain Berliner doesn't always manage to keep the balance between fantasy and harsh reality. His hand is at times heavy in the fantasy, and the film's jumps in time are occasionally abrupt.

But Ma Vie en Rose, despite its bright colors -- at least early on -- and hopeful ending, does not shy away from its subject. You identify with this child and understand his pain. You also understand his family's pain.

And, perhaps, that will lead to better understanding.