This sex change predates Christine Jorgeson by half a century

Rating: 10/10 (16 September 2016)

"The Danish Girl"'viewed at Venice, 2015, features Versatile British actor Eddie Redmayne's followup to last years Best Actor Oscar as wheelchair bound Cambridge cismologist Stephen Hawking -- could a second consecutive Oscar be in the offing?
A competition entry at Venice 2015 "The Danish Girl" is co-directed by 46 year old Englishman Tom Hooper (The King's Speech, 2010) and Swedish veteran Lasse Hallström, 69 (My Life as a Dog) -- British actor Eddie Redmayne's follow-up to his 2014 Best Actor Oscar as crippled British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything" was a hot ticket on the Lido this year. This time around Eddie portrays a man who became a woman in the first sex change operation of the twentieth century. Redmayne (33) plays a boy who literally becomes a girl! ~~ to wit, a well known Danish artist of the era, male, who underwent genital surgery in the early 1900s to become a woman -- preceding the American transsexual celebrity of Christine Jorgenson by half a century. Given the sexual confusion now rampant in the so- called "advanced" Western Democracies this one is destined to become a gay cult classic if nothing else ... Plot centers in the disturbed marriage of Danish artist Gerda Wegener and her sexually confused husband Einar. In a painting which becomes very popular she portrays Einar as a woman which arouses his suppressed feminine feelings to the point where he starts to cross dress and see himself as a woman -- a good looking one at that. The transformation is so intense that he renames himself Lili Elbe, from where the next inevitable step is sex change surgery -- putting his male life on the line as such an operation was seen as quite dangerous at the time. Both Redmayne and his wife in the film, new face Alicia Vikander, 26, from Sweden, are superb. Classy pastel shaded photography provides perfect support for the period feeling. Exquisite sets and decor. The central subject aside from the obvious gender transformation is the search for self and marital fidelity in the face of an impossible marital situation. Vikander as a truly devoted wife stands by him and supports him all during his painful reassessment of self and final decision to go through with a dangerous operation to resolve his/her identity dilemma. Great psychodrama, great everything ~~ a strong candidate for the Golden Lion here and other awards everywhere. not to be missed when it comes your way.
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