• Summary: A family with two daughters, 10-year-old Laure and 6-year-old Jeanne, moves to a new suburban neighborhood during the summer holidays. With her Jean Seberg haircut and tomboy ways, Laure is immediately mistaken for a boy by the local kids, and decides to pass herself off as “Mikael,” a boy different enough to catch the attention of leader of the pack Lisa, who becomes smitten. At home with her parents and girlie younger sister, she is Laure: hanging out with her new pals and girlfriend, she is Mikael. Finding resourceful ways to hide her true self, Laure takes advantage of her new identity, as if the end of the summer would never reveal her unsettling secret. Céline Sciamma brings a light and charming touch to this contemporary coming-of-age story, which is also about relationships between children, children and parents, and the even more complicated one between one’s heart and body. (Rocket Releasing) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 20
  2. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. Reviewed by: Diego Costa
    Nov 14, 2011
    100
    Tomboy is one of those little big films whose simplicity and concision suggest the excess of meaning that language (cinematic or otherwise) could never account for.
  2. Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    Nov 16, 2011
    91
    The startling power of Tomboy, a beautiful, matter-of-fact French drama about a young girl who wants to be a boy - and for one singular summer around her 10th birthday passes as one - begins with the one-of-a-kind natural performance by Zoé Héran as Laure.
  3. Reviewed by: Anna Smith
    Nov 13, 2011
    60
    A tender, sensitive French drama rich in hazy atmosphere.

See all 20 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. A classic example of a good French movie. Deep, thoughtful, intense without too much action. I do not remember a movie where children would act so naturally. My only complain: a bit slow at times. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. I really enjoyed it, but I feel like it could've been much more. It's very visceral, and the casting was outstanding, even the sister was quite incredible. But the script, the plot, was a bit shallow. Ultimately it had one point, one message and it covered it quite extensively, but I really wish it was more substantial. I'm quite the fan of coming of age films, but this was the most shallow one I've seen yet. If you compare this to to something like À Ma Soeur or Io non ho paura. Even something like My Life As A Dog or Manny and Lo, there's a base plot, an ultimate direction. This just seemed to be a character piece, but with a lacking of character development. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

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