XXY is a 2007 Argentine drama film written and directed by Lucía Puenzo and starring Ricardo Darín, Valeria Bertuccelli, Inés Efron and Martín Piroyansky. Based on the short story Cinismo (Cynicism), included in the book Chicos (Boys) by author Sergio Bizzio, the film tells the story of a 15-year-old intersex person, the way her family copes with her condition and the ultimate decision that she must eventually make as she struggles to define her own gender identity within a society that expects certain behaviors from every individual.
XXY received positive reviews from critics, winning the Critics' Week grand prize at the 2007 Cannes film festival, as well as the ACID/CCAS Support Award. It was nominated for eight awards at the 2008 Argentine Film Critics Association Awards, winning three of them including Best Film, and was nominated or won awards at a number of other foreign film festivals. It was chosen to close the 2008 Melbourne Queer Film Festival and had a short run theatrical release before being released onto DVD. The film also won the Goya Award for Best Spanish Language Foreign Film and the Golden Crow Pheasant at the International Film Festival of Kerala.
The film's title appears to be a reference to Klinefelter syndrome (also known as 47XXY), a condition in which a person is born with an extra chromosome. Males affected with Klinefelter syndrome may not show obviously irrefutable symptoms of being chromosomally intersex and are often unaware of their condition unless diagnosed later in life (usually due to infertility). It can be ascertained throughout the film that the main character has typical female sexual characteristics, with the exception of an enlarged clitoris, although this is coupled with an apparent hormonal regimentation. This is inconsistent with the condition of 47XXY, since those who have it usually appear to be anatomically male, though with certain feminine secondary sex characteristics such as gynecomastia.
Plot
Alex Kraken is a 15-year-old intersex person, born with both male and female genitals, who has been living and presenting herself as female and using medicines to suppress masculine features, such as a beard, and to attempt to have more feminine features. At the time of the movie, Alex has recently stopped taking her medication without telling her parents, which will cause her masculine features to begin to develop more.
Alex's parents moved with her from Argentina to a village by the sea in Uruguay, to avoid the society's discriminatory views and strict gender expectations. They wanted to help shelter her from bullying she was experiencing. Her father, Néstor Kraken, is a marine biologist who has written a book on sexuality and makes a living treating wounded animals found by fishermen. Her mother, Suli, invites friends from Argentina: a surgeon, his wife and teenage son Álvaro. The purpose, unknown to Néstor and Alex, is to discuss the possibilities of sex reassignment surgery, with Suli quietly hoping that Alex will decide to be female and go through with a surgery in the beginning.
The introduction of the relationship between Alex and Álvaro further complicates the drama of the movie. When Alex asks Álvaro directly if he would like to have sex, she is initially denied, but Álvaro later follows her from the beach and she seduces him. She begins to have anal intercourse with him (with her as the penetrative partner), and while Álvaro is surprised he does not stop Alex. Nestor catches sight of them through the door and they stop, and Alvaro rushes out feeling conflicted and still in a panic at the unexpected reversal in sexual roles. When Alex later apologizes, Álvaro reveals that he liked it and has no bad feelings towards her.
This scene opens the dialogue for the audience about gender roles and allows both characters, Alex and Álvaro, a chance to question their own identities and desires. Álvaro is raised by fairly conservative parents, and towards the end of the movie his father even expresses the desire that he hoped his son was not gay. However, Álvaro begins to question himself because he enjoyed the sexual experience with Alex even though Alex was performing anal sex on him. He is exploring his own gender and sexual identity within the confines of his parents' expectations, which contrasts with Alex's character who receives her parents' support about her situation.