Title: Transamerica
Director: Duncan Tucker
Actors: Felicity Huffman, Kevin Zegers, Fionnula Flanagan, Graham Greene a.o.
Run Time: 103 mins.

What a great Indie movie!! I was very impressed by the performance of Felicity Huffman. Now I have to admit that I haven't seen a lot by her and actually only know Desperate Housewives and I do not like it. No matter how many people try to convince it is goooooooooooood.

The movie starts when Bree is getting ready for a sex operation and she finds that she actually fathered a son, Toby, when she (as Stanley) had a relationship with a woman. Her therapist tells her that she should find out who this boy is and leave the past behind before she can get the operation. She isn't really feeling up to it, but goes any way. She bails him out of jail and pretends to be a church lady, who will take care of him. Then a road trip ensues, during Toby and Bree go through a lot and get to know each other a lot better. They also meet a lot of interesting people.

I thought Huffman was very good as a transwoman. She showed the awkwardness one can have when someone finds out one's secret, for instance when a young girl asks her: 'Are you a boy or a girl?' Also she sometimes overdid certain girlie mannerisms, which is what transpeople often do to 'compensate'. The Oscar should have gotten to her instead of Reese Witherspoon.

This really is one of those movies that give an important message without making it too obvious. It never rubbed the viewer's noses in the fact that transpeople are people with feelings too and that the movie was handling a 'controversial' topic. It just showed a woman trapped in a man's body, who wanted to make peace with the past. The road trip, like I said before, was funny and silly things happen, but there are also a lot of touching moments.

I thought it was a bit short, while the movie actually is longer than most movies. The ending is rather open and I liked that. You can figure out for yourself how they continue to live their lives. I also liked the fact that they didn't treat transsexuality as a 'controversial topic'. Some movies do that and it's like they are saying: "Oh, look at us! We're so controversial!" I'm a fan of the more subtle in-your-face-movies. It sounds like a contradiction but really, think about!

I think this movie also suffers from the Brokeback Mountain syndrome: certain people might find this a horrible movie just because it's about transsexuals and that's too much for them to handle or something. I am glad I am openminded enough to enjoy this very good movie. Those people are really missing out. The balance between drama and comedy is fantastic! And that is why I give this movie a 8.5/10 as well! This, too, will be added to my DVD collection when it gets released.

P.S. If you want to know more about transsexuality you should watch the documentary series Transgeneration. I found it very informative and it made me more open-minded.