Official poster of Just Charlie
Charlie, who is in his adolescence, feels more and more that something is wrong: he begins to secretly try on high heels, hide in the woods to steal the clothes thrown away by his sister, and become more and more unmotivated about football.
Until one day, my father bumped into ta who was secretly putting on makeup...
It's a British film where reality and romance are intertwined, Charlie is an ordinary student, and the director tells the self-identity and social biases of transgender people with delicate and realistic stories. Compose the story of a family struggling and confused to strive for happiness.
1
Strawberries have no gender, but most boys don't wear clothes with strawberry motifs.
——Cai Renwei's "Rules"
12-year-old boy Charlie is a rising star on the football field, and he is extremely talented for football, and he is favored by the club and is expected to sign a contract to become one of them.
He played football very well, not only the main player of the football team, the heart of the coach, even professional clubs want to sign him. His dad also looked at him as proud and urged him to agree to the club's signing as soon as possible and become a professional footballer, following the path his dad had not done that year.
His father had high hopes for him, hoping that he could complete his unfinished football dream and become a great football giant, and everything seemed to be within his reach. But Charlie was a little sullen. His father always talked about "signing" and "future", but Charlie's interest was not high. He vaguely knew where this emotion came from, but he still felt irritable and confused, and even the football wanted to give up.
But Charlie wasn't excited about it, no one knew, he had always felt like he had a girl's soul inside him.
He found himself particularly interested in girls' things, wearing high heels, changing into women's clothes, and makeup to make him happy, while male identity made him uncomfortable.
Such contradictions make Charlie fall into confusion, he wants to achieve his father's long-cherished wish to become a football superstar, but also wants to face himself and become a little girl named Charlie.
At a banquet, Charlie avoids everyone's eyes and hides in a room. The shiny cabinet in front of me was full of exquisite women's shoes. Charlie's eyes were filled with delight and confusion.
That night, when his parents and sister are out, Charlie finally finds the opportunity to unleash the true self in his body. Charlie gently stroked one of the white high heels, hesitated for a moment, and finally took them off.
She prepared a princess-like dream bubble bath, scraped off the excess hair on her legs, changed into a beautiful red slip dress, and enjoyed the pleasure of making herself more delicate and beautiful when she made her makeup.
She tucked her socks into her high heels, which was not an easy task. Black socks, straight trousers, it seems that these shoes are so out of place. But Charlie still put the pair of white high heels on his feet, and then turned to the surface of his feet, admiring them alone. Curious, joyful and confused, a complex and strange emotion surged into the heart of the teenager.
Unexpectedly, his parents suddenly came home and encountered such an unknown scene, the father could not accept that his son suddenly became such a freak, and in anger, he wiped off the makeup on Charlie's face and found the little man in his heart. In a panic, Charlie tossed his heels aside. This was Charlie's first attempt at high heels, and he was flustered but a little lucky.
Charlie, who was under the collapse, finally said the confusion that had been in his heart for a long time: I should have been like my sister Eve, I should have been a girl.
He took the clothes his sister didn't want, compared them to himself, and ran into the woods to secretly change them.
Looking at the beautiful girl on the phone, he realized: This is the real her, this is the real Charlie.
However, like most transgender people who are just beginning to identify themselves, Charlie, who has calmed down, tries to suppress the true self in his heart and convince his father that he will return to "normal".
However, contrary to his wishes, between the complex emotions of "being a good son" and "wanting to be himself", Charlie has a mental disorder and wants to release this pain by self-harm. When Charlie self-harmed with scissors, the parents went from confusion to collapse. For Charlie, recognizing herself as a girl is a process; but for her parents, "the son suddenly wants to be a girl" is a thunderbolt of a sunny day that catches them off guard.
The father's urging was impatient, and Charlie's perfunctory irritation made the father even more annoyed. My father was also a footballer when he was young, but he could not turn regular due to injury, and now he cannot continue to play football, and can only work as a small employee in an electronics factory.
Signing with the club, such a good opportunity was in front of Charlie, but Charlie pushed back again and again, which made his father both angry and disappointed.
Until one day, the father bumped into Charlie, who was wearing makeup and dressing up as a woman. The conflict broke out completely. The father questioned angrily, threw the towel in her face, and ordered her to wipe it off immediately. Charlie desperately argued, "It's normal, and it's not surprising!" But the father was furious: "This is not strange! You're a freak!"
He roared angrily and pounced, pressing down on Charlie and rubbing the makeup on her face hard. Charlie struggled desperately and shouted until her mother outside the house heard a voice and rushed into the house to take her in her arms, and the father gave up.
They don't know what happened to the "son", why Charlie suddenly became what he is now, why overnight, their well-behaved and sensible son suddenly wanted to be a girl. Is it "gay"? Or what mental illness?
Faced with the unknown disaster that happened to their son, they were confused and desperate.
Her mother was upset with Charlie, she just wanted Charlie to grow up safely and happily, so she convinced herself, accepted Charlie's identity, and went with her to seek professional help. While the father was still immersed in the collapse of the what the was going on in his head, the mother slowly came out of the collapse in the same pain, little by little recognized the reality, and struggled to wake up.
She realized that no matter what happened to the child, she must be "unhappy." She didn't know what was wrong with Charlie, but if she let Charlie continue to be a boy, she wouldn't be happy herself. She wanted her children to be happy and happy, no matter what happened. It's a mother's instinct.
Charlie's sister consulted the transgender website and learned that Charlie was in "gender dysphoria". Although shocked, the sister accepted this fact. The sister truly regarded Charlie as her own sister, taking her to the streets to buy clothes and teach her to learn makeup and dress.
The soccer coach is also silently helping Charlie, and when Charlie decides to be himself, he asks her to join the women's soccer team that matches her true identity. As a girl sweating on the football field and training with the girls, this allowed Charlie to slowly pick up the confidence and joy she had lost. In one game, Charlie, as a substitute, actually won a goal for the team, breaking the scorching situation.
Mom, sister, coach, teammate, spectator... At this moment, everyone is shouting for Charlie! The teammates hugged Charlie, who had been in frustration and confusion, and finally felt the sense of accomplishment of victory again.
Charlie also slowly realized that she still loves football, still loves her friends, and still loves her family.
Although friends have called women's clothes "perverts", after telling the story, they are still a pair of good friends who can call each other two goods. Although her grandmother wrote a letter to break up the relationship because she wanted to be a girl, she still showed her grandmother that she was still Charlie and still loved her.
She's still Charlie, and that hasn't changed.
In the face of the doctor, although Charlie was a little restrained, he still said his heart little by little.
She didn't understand why her father did that to her, why he couldn't understand her, why his father said he was "willing to do anything for her" and "loved her" but didn't even allow her to be himself.
Finally, while she was in tears, she whispered to the doctor and her mother:
"I'm Charlie, not this body."
But not everyone can accept Charlie like this, and her best friend treats her like a stranger.
Classmates looked at her with disdain, and the parents of the team's students also signed a joint sign to ask Charlie to quit.
When Charlie appears at the party dressed as a girl, two men talk to her.
One of them was still asking for his phone number, but was pushed away by Charlie.
Although there was a little conflict with friends, although the first time women's clothing went to school was criticized and ostracized by classmates, although some team members still could not accept it, although they almost could no longer play football due to reports, but with the joint efforts of their families and Charlie, these problems were solved one by one.
Charlie's life is getting better and better: trying to wear women's clothes to school, getting more and more harmonious with the members of the women's soccer team, and dressing up more and more "girly" and more and more beautiful under the guidance of his mother and sister.
But in contrast, Charlie's dad had a somewhat worse life. He has been unable to accept the "son" becoming a "daughter."
In the face of Charlie's overtures and closeness, he always refused. He never called Charlie "daughter" and always called her "Charlie" in a strong way. His father's indifference made Charlie sad.
After the father once again rejected Charlie's overtures, the mother became angry: Isn't it better for the child to be happy? Why do you have to wrongfully make her your "son" and make you satisfied?
To this, my father also gave his own answer: "If you are different, this is hell!" Have we had a better day since Charlie's gorgeous transformation?"
After they realized Charlie's "special identity", they not only did not apologize, but also became angry,
Contemptuously calling Charlie gay, roughly pressing him to the ground, punching and kicking him. My father's worries were also for a reason. On the surface, the father did not care about Charlie, but in fact, he has been paying attention to the movements of the child.
One day, Charlie's friend saw Charlie in women's clothes and wearing a wig and scolded him as a "pervert." Charlie's sister was angry and argued with him. The friend was momentarily angry, said more ugly words, and pushed his sister. Charlie was angry and punched his friend hard, breaking his nose.
The friend's parents met Charlie's father at the tavern and went forward to ask for an explanation for their son. Charlie's father was justified: Obviously, your son was the first to push and shove my eldest daughter! But they still don't forgive:
"We just want to tell you, you're so ashamed!" How can you make him dress like that! It's still so violent!"
Fortunately, at the end of the film, Charlie has received the affirmation and support of his family and friends, and is more and more confident in facing his true self.
Every transgender person coming out seems to be a mess. The sudden outbreak of the epidemic has caught many transgender friends off guard: women's/men's clothing was discovered, drugs taken were discovered, mobile phone chat records were found...
The mother covered her face and sobbed, and the father smoked one cigarette after another. We stood to the sidelines, our brains blank, helpless in the face of our parents' sharp questions:
"How did you end up like this?"
"Are you a pervert?"
"When did you do this?"
"Can you be a normal person?"
"Are you worthy of us who are neither male nor female?"
"What do you ask your relatives and neighbors to think of us?" Where do you let our old faces go?"
"Sick, huh?" If we have a disease, we will cure it!"
So, we desperately explained to our parents: this is not a disease, it has been de-morbidized internationally, and the country also has a formal channel for gender confirmation; this is not a disease, nor does it need to be treated, as a biological sex life makes me feel painful, I can live happily in this way, I am now living very happy and happy, don't you just want me to live happily and happily...
But in the face of stubborn parents, these explanations always seem so pale and weak. The moment we came out, there was an idea that was ingrained in our parents' minds:
My child is an abnormal pervert.
It's a socially significant film, and director Rebecca Fuchon focuses on ordinary transgender teenagers to make this huge group be seen.
In the film, there is no exploration of the psychological causes of transgender people, but more attention is paid to their self-acceptance when they realize gender differences.
As well as the acceptance process of the people around me, I hope that people who have seen this movie can have more tolerance and understanding for this group.
When we explain our gender identity to others, we often say, "Transgender people are people whose souls are wrong bodies." But we have always habitually emphasized the "wrong body" and often overlooked the "unchanging soul".
No matter what kind of body we are in, our soul never changes.
The mean soul does not become worthy of sympathy and pity because it is trapped in the wrong body; the good soul is not blinded by the original luster because of the wrong body. Go for his gender, I am who I am.
Even if you can't get your body for a while, even if you face the difficulties of life, time will prove that a kind and strong soul will often become more and more brilliant in the grind of reality.
And love is the same.
A video about fashion says something like this: "Mom's aesthetic stayed in the nineties, the era when they thought it was the most beautiful and brilliant, the youth that belonged to them."
Not only aesthetics, each generation has a unique growth environment, and therefore has a very different concept.
We cannot force the elderly in their 70s and 80s to use smart phones skillfully, we cannot force parents in their 50s and 60s to understand the internet language of the post-00s, and we cannot require today's young people to eat leftovers and wear patched clothes every day.
The parents trapped love in the besieged city of ideas that belonged to their time. What "gender identity" is, they have never seen it before, and they don't understand it at all. Even after consulting the relevant information and even listening to the doctor's explanation, it is difficult for them to fully agree.
But the love of parents has not changed, they always want you to be better, they hope you can be happier. This goodness and happiness seems wrong to us, but there is nothing wrong with love.
Love is the most instinctive emotion of parents towards their children. Understand their love, use time to slowly melt the barriers between each other, and believe that one day we will become intimate again.
In the end, Charlie's father still couldn't understand, but he chose to accept, accept the happy child, accept the happy Charlie.
Because he was her father, he loved her deeply, and always loved her deeply.