Line #9 Film/Tomboy2011


1	[[quoteright:315:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tomboy_2011.jpeg]]
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3	''Tomboy'' is a 2011 French drama film directed and written by Creator/CelineSciamma.
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5	Ten-year-old Laure (Zoé Héran) is used to moving around. She's moving once again, but this time her parents plan on staying in a Paris suburb for a while.
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7	Soon she meets Lisa (Jeanne Disson), a girl her age who mistakes her for a boy. Laure decides to stay in character and introduces herself to Lisa and the local children as "Mickaël". She keeps this secret from her parents, and it is summer so she hasn't run into any problems with school yet. She and Lisa soon develop a mutual crush.
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9	Has nothing to do with [[ComicBook/Tomboy2015 either]] [[ComicBook/TomboySterling comic]], or the 1985 American teen comedy of the same name.
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11	----
12	!!This movie contains examples of:
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14	* AmbiguousGenderIdentity: This is a source of debate on the film. It's about a girl who moves to a new town and presents herself as a boy to the other kids. The title of the movie and the ending make it vague whether she's a, well, tomboy or has gender dysphoria. Its director and writer Creator/CelineSciamma said this was entirely deliberate, so that {{butch lesbian}}s, [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} trans men]] or {{tomboy}} straight women could all see themselves in Laure as a child.
15	* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Jeanne, though she's a rather mild example.
16	* AssociatedComposer: One of several collaborations between Creator/CelineSciamma and her friend composer/DJ Jean-Baptiste de Laubier, better known as Para One.
17	* AttractiveBentGender: Lisa falls for "Mickaël", who is actually a girl.
18	* BerserkButton: Don't mess with Jeanne. Laure will take you down.
19	* {{Bifauxnen}}: Laure easily passes as a boy, and an attractive one for Lisa.
20	* BigBrotherInstinct: Laure has one toward her little sister, who says she used to beat up anyone who teased her and that their old neighborhood was scared of her. She could have been exaggerating, but Laure gets into a fight with a boy who pushed her sister and wins.
21	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:[[TraumaCongaLine Laure is forced to be seen as a girl again, the kids humiliate her, and Lisa seems to have broken off her romance with her]]]]. But it seems Laure and Lisa are still friends.
22	* BlindfoldedTrip: When Lisa leads Mickaël into the forest for their FirstKiss.
23	* BoyishShortHair: Laure has very short hair in contrast to Jeanne and Lisa who have longer hair and are more girly. She has a very masculine clothing style too, presenting herself as a boy in much of the film, and is a tomboy at the very least.
24	* {{Bookends}}: Near the beginning, Laure introduces herself as "Mickaël" and at the end, she introduces herself again as Laure.
25	* ButchLesbian: Laure--who's as tomboyish as it gets, and surely gets along very well with the idea of dating Lisa--is likely either this or possibly transgender.
26	* ComingOfAgeStory: For Laure, who's exploring her gender identity and experiencing her first love.
27	* CosmeticCatastrophe: Downplayed. Lisa puts on quite some makeup on Mickaël.
28	* ExactEavesDropping: Towards the end in the forest, Laure comes in at the right time to overhear the other boy telling the group about her being a girl.
29	* FreeRangeChildren: The kids are allowed to play outside (even on the lake) without parental supervision.
30	* FirstKiss: Lisa drags "Mickaël" to a secluded area, and kisses her.
31	* GirlinessUpgrade: Laure gets two:
32	** First when she's at Lisa's home as "Mickaël" and Lisa puts makeup on her face (see RecursiveCrossdressing below).
33	** Then when she's forced to wear a dress so everyone can see she's not a boy.
34	* KidsAreCruel: [[spoiler: The boys force Laure to take off her short pants towards the end.]]
35	* LadyLooksLikeADude: The film is about Laure, a ten-year-old girl who moves to a town and decides to [[SweetPollyOliver try and pass as male]]. Her short hair, androgynous looks, and prepubescent physique mean that she looks boyish all the time. [[spoiler:She's only found out when she gets into a fight with a boy and his parents talk to her parents]].
36	* MasculineFeminineGayCouple: {{Tomboy}} Laure pretends she's a boy, [[PuppyLove falls for a far more feminine girl]] named Lisa and they [[SweetOnPollyOliver hit it off]]. [[spoiler:The ending is ambiguous. Laure's gender gets revealed and Lisa is initially upset, however, they appear to start a friendship afterward. It's also possible that Laure may be UsefulNotes/{{transgender}}, subverting the trope if so]].
37	* NoseNuggets: One of the topics when the kids play "truth or dare".
38	* OneOfTheBoys: Laure not only gets along good with the boys but she even passes as one.
39	* OutdoorsyGal: Laure loves spending time outside playing football (soccer).
40	* OutfitRipSexCheck: [[spoiler:The boys have Lisa check to see what Laure's sex is by pulling down her pants]].
41	* PuppyLove: Laure and Lisa are "dating". They're also preteens.
42	* RecursiveCrossdressing: When Lisa and "Mickaël" play with some girly makeup after the dance.
43	* SecretKeeper: Laure makes Jeanne promise not to tell their parents about the Mickael thing. She also tells it to her little brother when he was in the womb by whispering to her mother's stomach.
44	* ShirtlessScene: Laura has a few, even as "Mickaël". She hasn't hit puberty and grown a female breast yet so it makes it easy for her to pass as a boy.
45	* ShownTheirWork: Many of the behaviors in the movie are rather accurate, right down to [[spoiler:kids trying to "find out" a person's sex by taking off their pants]]. Director Céline Sciamma wanted the movie to be as naturalistic as possible.
46	* SliceOfLife: Many scenes depicting children at play and the boring everyday life of a family.
47	* StockScream: None other than the ''Wilhelm Scream''.
48	* SweetPollyOliver: Laure is a 10-year-old girl who moves to a new neighborhood. Throughout the movie, she passes herself off as a boy, even playing soccer without a shirt, kissing another girl, and swimming without a top. Before doing the last, she even fashions a thing to put in her shorts that mimics a penis bulge. However, given these rather intense measures there's some debate about whether Laure's transgender.
49	* TankTopTomboy: Laure usually wears one when she doesn't go shirtless.
50	* TimeSkip: The last scene skips a couple of weeks ahead of the InternalReveal. The mother has given birth to a boy and Laure is already in school.
51	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Laure and Jeanne, Laure and Lisa.
52	* TraumaCongaLine: [[spoiler: Poor Laure goes through this. Her mom makes her appear as a girl to a boy she beat up and to her girlfriend, she is humiliated by the other kids and Lisa breaks up with her.]]
53	* UnsettlingGenderReveal: [[spoiler: Near the very end of the movie, Laure's mom forces Laure to wear a dress and go to apologize to the boy she beat up for pushing Jeanne. She also is forced to go to her girlfriend's house to apologize.]]

Context Film / Tomboy2011