“Be yourself, others are already taken. From a very young age, 25-year-old Alex has ostentatiously applied Oscar Wilde’s maxim. More than a self-help mantra, it’s a daily battle for him. It takes courage to break free from the dictates of the norm. Feeling both male and female, 100% androgynous, Alex broods until the day of revelation (or the announced accident?) and embarks on an impossible challenge: to be Miss France! This popular fairy tale idea was born from a joke. Ruben Alves, the director of The Golden Cage (2013), was working on a TV movie project on transgender. On this occasion, she meets androgynous model Alex Wetter, who has just paraded for Jean Paul Gaultier. “I asked her if she was considering switching. She wasn’t. She just feels stronger as a woman.”, says the filmmaker, who eventually chose androgyny as his subject. When Alex tells him that Marianne is the epitome of femininity in his eyes, Ruben turns back: “So why not Miss France?”
“SENSITIVE AND SAFE”
Contrary to all expectations, the Miss France Society’s acceptance was positive despite an uncompromising scenario that did not hinder the debate around this controversial vision of femininity. When we asked then-General Director Sylvie Tellier why Miss France Organization participated in the film, she explains:The fruit of a meeting with Ruben Alves. We felt immediately that she was helpful, respectful of Miss France’s values. We don’t need to look for a position on our part, it’s just a movie that deals with tolerance, acceptance of difference. How not to be associated with this beautiful message? He will not regret his support: “Miss is lively, sensitive and cheeky”, He’ll tell us when the movie comes out. The three adjectives we added funny were found to be good. Behind the scenes of the election is full of nuggets.
The best is undoubtedly the performance of Pascale Arbillot, the authoritative director of the competition and whose flaws allow the light to pass. On the Wire (confusing plot), Ruben Alves is directing an amazing film about the courage to be himself. His greatest triumph is playing with stereotypes about women’s clothing, androgyny, and the issue of gender. Alex and I meet a colorful tribe that hates the Miss France pageant and lives together in a boarding house run by milk soup Yolande. Isabelle Nanty embodies this with great humanity. Lola, a former transvestite prostitute, is the other figure of the place. Zero Zaza Napoli in the air, but a tense feeling: Thibault de Montalembert is imperial. Quality of interpretation, accuracy of the topic, unpreparedness to think: the lady entertains while inviting to think. Flawless. Like the novice Alex Wetter, who in his big screen debut demonstrated admirable qualities as a cocoonal hero, an actor.
Miss, Sunday 26 March at 21:10 in France 2
JULIAN BARCILON
Source: Programme Television
Joseph Fearn is an entertainment and television aficionado who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for what’s hot in the world of TV, Joseph keeps his readers informed about the latest trends and must-see shows.
