One of the reasons I appreciate this film is that it doesn't trivialise an under-discussed issue, intersexuality, that lends itself well to stereotypes and simplifications. Instead of painting with a broad brush, the creators of XXY simply decided to tell a story of one person, and gave that story the care and treatment it deserved. It is a real balancing act to handle such a sensitive issue, but I feel that XXY succeeded in a way few other films could have. One of the most intriguing parts of the film in my view, however, has to be the budding romance between the protagonist, Alex, and Alvaro, the son of a surgeon who is friends with Alex's parents, that leaves them both confused. Both of them do not conform, in differing ways, to heteronormative standards of sex and sexuality, face rejection from those around them, and are unsure of their place in the world. Their relationship and the dynamics surrounding it make for a fascinating storyline that left me thinking for hours after I finished the film. The interplay of all elements at work here – shame, fear, but also self-discovery and an internal awakening – made me enjoy the film, even if it could be slow at times. The best adjective I can think of to describe this film is brooding. It is dark, (sometimes painfully) slow, and pensive. I can barely think of a film that made me ask so many questions while I was watching it, but I think the best question comes from the protagonist, Alex. When told by her parents that they would support her regardless of which choice she made regarding her gender, she responds "and what if I didn't have to choose anything?" It would be an understatement to say the film became rather slow at times, but overall I would highly recommend this film.

I bought this movie through the Amazon Marketplace based on the high rating and many positive reviews. And now having seen the movie, I sit with a somewhat disappointing feeling. The movie wasn't bad or anything, but it wasn't as amazing as people apparently made it out to be.The story was good and interesting, but the story wasn't given all the time needed to fully utilize every potential it had. It felt like running out of time really cut the movie short at a much too early moment.It should be said that "XXY" is actually a movie experience that should be seen, because it has a beautiful storyline. But more so, it was brought to the screen by a group of very talented actors and actresses, and had a skilled director pulling the strings.I am rating "XXY" a mere five out of ten stars, because it didn't live up to what the reviews and ratings had made it up to be. Sure it was a beautiful movie in many ways, but it was a real shame that it didn't see all of its potential, because it could have been so much more.

It's a finely executed film about gawky Iñes Efron. She's a fifteen-year-old girl, caught in the middle of her growth spurt, who has to decide whether to keep taking her "corticoids" and remain female, or to quit taking them, undergo surgery, and "masculinize." I think the title -- XXY -- may be misleading. My understanding is that XXY individuals are males but perhaps with less facial hair and smaller penises, and they're usually infertile.Efron is definitely a young girl -- and what a girl! She's not beautiful but is intensely attractive. From certain angles, with her short haircut, she could almost pass for a high-school boy in, say, 1970. But mostly she looks like the disturbed girl she truly is. She has one of the most expressive faces I've seen in years.The movie makes it clear that she has the external reproductive organs of both sexes. There is no full frontal nudity, though there's a surprising amount of topless footage, but she's seen urinating on the beach, standing up and facing away from the camera. And when she gets horny, her impulse is to sodomize the boy she's with. If I'm not mistaken, the penis in cases like this is not much more than an enlarged clitoris. There is still some physical material that's left unclear, but it's nothing compared to Hillary Swank's dalliance with Chloë Sevigny in "Boys Don't Cry." The movie begins a bit sluggishly because we're not immediately introduced to the characters and don't know exactly what the hell is going on. Over time, we gather that two families share a beach house where they try to protect and heal endangered species of sea turtles. Efron's father is a butcher, and he has a face made for the camera.The other family head is a doctor, a thoughtful and quiet man, who suggests that surgery would solve Efron's problem. The penis would be removed. (Ewww.) But that's kind of beside the point. The point is that Efron must make up her own mind. Her present state is intolerable. Those who know about her condition ridicule her. Some young rascals try to rape her, using what there is of her vagina. She decides to discard her pills and grow up into a man. It's a tough row to hoe, no matter what choice she makes.It was shot at a remote beach location in Argentina. I somehow always figured Argentina for semi-tropical climate and plenty of sunshine, but this beach cottage is pretty lonely and the photographer effectively captures the almost sepulchral moodiness of the place. The wind moans, the sand is an uninviting color, there is a constant overcast, and it looks chilly all the time. We could be looking at the Baltic Sea.There are some elements of the story that I'm kind of skipping over for reasons of space and time. Efron sodomizes her young friend, who is attracted to her, and afterwards he admits that he enjoyed it. This kid deserves some scrutiny. How about no surgery for Efron and some surgery for her boyfriend, replacing his penis with a blind pouch. It works.But if some of it is vague, or even medically absurd, there's no escaping the fact that it's fine film, made for a mature audience.

XXY is a story about a 13 years old child called Alex and the people around him/her. Alex is hermaphroditic, which means his/her gene is XXY and he/she has both male and female genital. Alex's dad is a marine biologist, and he decided to move the family to a village near sea. Alex's family made him/her intake female hormone to remain a girl – until adolescent, when Alex stopped taking it for reason unexplained in the movie. Without the hormone, Alex's male aggressive tendency began to rise. She broke her friend's nose for leaking Alex's secret to the villagers. Alex's mother invited her family friend, Ramiro to stay with them for a few day in the hope that Ramiro as a plastic surgeon will "normalize" Alex. Ramiro brought his family along. He has a 16 years old, buck-toothed son Alvaro whom Ramiro thought has gay tendency. Alex showed her desire of sex to Alvaro quite frankly, and eventually they had anal sex with Alex being the one penetrating. However, they got interrupted when Alex's dad, Kraken, walked by and spotted them. They separated, but later Alvaro committed to Alex that he liked it. Several villager boys found Alex alone, and forcibly pulled her pants down to inspect her double genital. They attempted to abuse her sexually, but were stopped by the friend who gave away Alex's secret. Kraken thought of reporting it to the police but didn't because he was concerned about the whole village knowing Alex's unique sexual identity. Kraken visited a hermaphroditic man who has a family. The man told Kraken his past, and encouraged him to allow Alex to choose her sexual identity. Later, when asked, Alex wondered, "what if there isn't a decision to make?"Alvaro's family is leaving. Alvaro bid farewell with Alex in a clouded mood. Alex asked if Alvaro regret for not seeing her again, or haven't seen her penis. Alvaro didn't answer, and Alex showed him her penis. Alvaro still said nothing.There are many psychological conflicts in this movie. Alex herself is in puberty, and as her sexual hormone begin to change, her action became more aggressive and masculine. Those personality and sexual identity changes lead to confusion of sexual identity, of the answer to "is it a boy or a girl?" Many people, including Alex's mother, consider her abnormal. In such situation, Alex will grow doubt of herself and hatred to the environment. In Erkinson's psychosocial development, adolescent development is about one's identity, so Alex will face role confusion in the rest of his/her life. Alex's father, in contrast, believes that Alex doesn't have a problem. She is perfect in his eyes. Thus, he protect her from "hearing every idiot's opinion" and give her freedom to decide her sex. But there comes the more compelling problem: Why is such decision necessary? Why is the question "Is it a boy or a girl?" Alex realized that being him/herself is more important than what others think. This indicates that Alex is having a successful adolescence, even more successful than his father expected. The movie didn't give answer to Alex's sexual role, but suggested that the role is not just simply male or female. Abnormal is an opinion, not a fact.Alvaro's sexual role is also different from majority. He had sex with Alex, but acted as the role of "woman" and enjoyed it. This indicates that Alvaro is homosexual. Ironically, his father Ramiro talked to Alvaro and stated coldly that he's not satisfied with his son, and the only thing he's glad about him is that he's not a fag. While the talk between Alex and her father Kraken demonstrate a successful adolescence development, the talk between Alvaro and his father still leave Alvaro in confusion. He craves to have his father satisfied, but is unable to do so. Since his father wants him to be heterosexual, Alvaro wants himself to love Alex as a girl too. However, Alex knows that he doesn't. In the final scene, Alex asks if Alvaro like her or her body with penis, and showed him her male genital. Alvaro didn't say one word after the questioning. His development is still dazed and confused, not because he is homosexual, but because other people, especially his dad's opinion.