EL ULTIMO VERANO DE LA BOYITA (THE LAST SUMMER OF THE BOYITA)

Argentina, 2009, 89 minutes, Colour.
Guadalupe Alonzo, Nicholas Treise.
Directed by Julia Solomonoff.

The Last Summer of the Boyita is a film about children. Most of it is seen from the children’s point of view.

A boyita, as seen in the sketches during the opening credits, is a magical floating house, a refuge created in the imagination of the young girl, Jorgelina.

The film is set within the context of a Jewish Argentinian family. They go on holidays. The mother takes the older daughter, who is experiencing menstruation and is acting like a temperamental thirteen-year-old. They go to the beach. The younger daughter, Jorgelina, goes with her doctor father to the farm in the country that they have bought. The film focuses on Jorgelina’s holiday. At the farm there is a young boy, Mario, whom she has befriended. He is a hard worker, helps his father with all the work around the farm, taming the horses, building the fences, the odd chores.

The film focuses on Mario and the audience soon learns that he is probably a girl. As the film develops, it is clear that the family lives in the country, are ignorant of the genetic aspects of Mario’s life. They had taken him to a doctor, not given the test results to the specialists as advised, with Mario getting well, despite menstruation, they refuse to face the reality.

The film treats this subject with some delicacy and humanity. The friendship between the two children is very strong. The character of Mario, played by Nicholas Treise, is an earnest boy, trying his best, puzzled at what is happening to him. The dramatic climax of the film is a horse race, the father having sold the horse to spite his son, and the son getting the horse, riding it to victory.

The boy’s mother is sympathetic but is dominated by the father who is brutal to his son. The other principal character is the doctor who with some delicacy examines the boy, advises the mother, listens to the concern of his young daughter.

The film treats a theme similar to that of XXY, directed by Lucia Puenzo, which took a more clinical as well as psychological perspective on the theme, focusing on a girl who is older than Mario in this film.

1.An Argentinian memoir, the 80s, the childhood of the director? The female perspective, female identity, friendship, mystery?

2.The opening in Rosario, the Jewish household? The doctor? The family and the beach holiday? The farm holiday? The countryside, the pampas, horses, fences, the house and barns? The town, the race meeting? The musical score?

3.Jorgelina and her perspective, the opening credits and the designs, female sexuality, the floating house? Preparation for the exploration of themes? Jorgelina and her sister, the issue of menstruation, their discussions, the books and pictures, Jorgelina’s reaction? Her age, eagerness, ignorance, angers with her sister yet loving her, love for her mother, father, going to the farm with her father, the relationship with Elba, Oskar and Mario?

4.The family, the doctor and his work, books, the mother and her domestic concern, love for her daughters? Luciana and her age, her love for her sister, fighting and arguments, puberty, boys, her friends, the holidays? The typical young girl’s holiday?

5.Jorgelina and the doctor, their arrival, settling in, the holiday, previous friendship with Mario?

6.Mario and seeing him with the horse-taming, his age, hard work, not going to school, relationship with his parents, not going into the water for swimming, Jorgelina and her love for swimming? The audience learning that Mario was probably a girl? Riding with Jorgelina, the blood, the reaction, Mario’s ignorance about sexuality and menstruation? His training for the race? The two children and their playing together?

7.Jorgelina asking her father about Mario, the doctor examining him, discovering the truth, his discretion, talking with Elba? The tests, the parents not taking any notice of them, not giving them to specialists, glad that Mario was getting better and therefore ignoring the situation? The father beating Mario, selling the horse? Mario running away, the search, Jorgelina and her statue of the Virgin Mary, seeing her as a protective fairy, saying the Hail Mary? Mario’s return, getting on the horse, riding in the race and winning, galloping off?

8.Jorgelina and Mario, at the end, Mario swimming?

9.Jorgelina’s return, the parents discussing how the holiday affected her? Considering a psychologist? Jorgelina not telling Luciana, keeping the experience a secret?

10.A film about children, serious themes, their perspectives, the adult context? The issues of genetics, gender, identity?