20,000 Species of Bees (2023)
A touching tale of self-discovery and family dynamics, perfect for fans of heartwarming LGBTQ+ stories and emotional dramas.
Genres: Drama
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20,000 Species of Bees(2023)
Overview
During a summer visit with extended family, an eight-year-old begins to express her true gender more openly while the adults around her struggle to understand and support her. As the days pass, family relationships, expectations, and ideas about femininity are quietly tested in a tender, reflective drama.
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Review Summary
Pros: sensitive identity journey; strong child performance; nuanced family dynamics | Cons: slow pacing; feels overlong; low on plot events
Will You Like This?
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a gentle, emotionally grounded family drama about identity and acceptance, with a patient pace; Not for you if you need lots of action, suspense, or a fast-moving story like The Realm.
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Full Cast & CrewFeatured Comments/Tips
Really masterful representation of trans people and how it is to live as one (and how it is to have trans family members). It doesn't try to achieve more than that, it really is just the experience of a trans girl, which is the reason I think it delivers so well. Most movies/series about trans people end up either falling into stereotypes or looking really forced (which is not that bad of a thing, but still). Everything you learn from this movie, you learn it for yourself, the movie is not trying to convince you of anything. It doesn't try to debate anything, it's just potraying reality. This movie is perfect in the sense that you are not an spectator throughout the movie, you are inside LucÃa's skin. You feel for her every time she is misrepresented by someone and every time someone is nice to her, it's such a convincing character and performance from SofÃa Otero, truly. If you are looking for a big narrative or strong emotions, this is not that movie. You will get what you are promised, the best representation of trans youth you can ask for.
Boring trans crap. Not worth the time.
[Movistar+] An interesting debut that skillfully uses a special sensitivity in the treatment of the search for one's own identity. Better developed in the first two acts than in a third act that is too obvious, compared to the subtlety of the previous ones, the film is full of great moments and looks from SofÃa Otero, to whom the Spanish Film Academy has denied a deserved Goya award. Because LucÃa's incarnation of her is one of the most beautiful representations of gender identity that have been seen in recent years.
Tender The director manages to deal with such a delicate subject with enviable mastery. Tired of watching movies where this topic is shoehorned in wherever they can, in this footage they manage to delve deeper into a topic in a natural way, in a raw way due to the very real reflection it gives off and in a very tender way. You come to empathize with both the protagonist and the family members who experience it from their perspective. First film of the director, with what tenderness she has managed to make this film. I have rarely seen a performance of such a young character acted in this way. Bravo
Featured User Reviews
Wow! For an actor barely ten years old, this is a masterful performance from SofÃa Otero. It's a complex family drama that deals with relationships and identity in a delicate yet potent fashion as a mother "Ane" (Patricia López Arnaiz) leaves her busy husband "Gorka" (Martxelo Rubio) behind and takes their three children on a trip to see her family. Outwardly, they are a normal enough family unit - they have a few financial worries and at times relationships can be a bit strained, but as we get to now them all a bit better, we discover that Otero's character - a young boy ("Aitor") by birth but not by nature is seeking the confidence internally and from those surrounding to truly become "Lucia". Of course this causes consternation amongst the loving, but confused, parents and family at large - apart from her pragmatic and affectionate, beekeeping, great aunt "Lourdes" (Ane Gabarain), who seems to appreciate that the choices being made now by the youngster are visceral and innate. The story allows us to come to our own conclusions about how we might deal with this scenario were we ever to face it - as a child, as a parent, as an extended family member - and, rather effectively here, as a best friend. It has an innocence to it and a poignancy that this young actor encapsulates skilfully and engagingly. Arnaiz, Gabarain and Itziar Lazkano as the grandmother "Lita" all add depth to the characterisations and the narrative here too. It can be a bit on the slow side at times, but somehow that doesn't detract too much from the considered style of storytelling going on here. It's thought-provoking and well worth a watch.
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