Hey there! The Pride Month is here and so is my first blog! This blog will try to incite your interest in watching a brilliant movie based on LGBTQ issues. Hope you all like it. Happy Reading!!!
“I am entirely myself.” These are the words uttered by Lily Elbe, as she and Greda hold hands. Well this scene sprouted a query in my mind. Is it really that simple for someone to be entirely oneself? And if you would watch the movie ‘The Danish Girl’, you would conclude that it’s definitely not!
The movie begins in Copenhagen, 1926, where two painters, Einar Wagenar and his wife Greda Wagenar attend an Artists’ Gala to celebrate the success of Einar Wagenar’s works. This is how we get to know about the couple’s work as artists and the way in which they endure the art. Einar is into landscapes, whereas Greda works on portraits.
One day, Greda’s actor friend finds it difficult to make it to the sitting of her portrait. Greda, who wishes to complete this portrait in time, convinces Einar to sit for her, wearing stockings and heels. All this is done just to complete the portrait. In this process, we, as the audience, get to know that Einar in fact enjoys and loses himself, only to bring out the “Inner her” caged within him for years. This “Inner her” is christened as Lily, by Greda’s actor friend, who reaches their place for a sitting for the portrait.
As the movie proceeds, Lily now makes regular appearances. Her existence in the beginning is encouraged by Greda. We also witness them having fun while teaching and learning of female mannerisms, through eager observations. Lily also makes several public appearances, introducing herself as Einar’s cousin. In the meanwhile, Lily also becomes the subject of Greda’s art and this gives them immense popularity and a gallery in Paris to exhibit her work. With the charges of sodomy and perversion, levelled by the conservative society looming around against Einar, both Lily and Greda move to Paris.
The course of events gets severe in Paris, as what began as fun starts plunging into the clutches of reality. Einar is now convinced that he is a woman trapped in a man’s body. The line, “When I dream, they are Lily’s dreams.”, tells us about his desire to emancipate himself as a woman. Greda at first finds it difficult to cope with this realisation of Einar’s, but as time proceeds she too apprehends who her husband really is. Greda along with her husband’s childhood friend Hans Axgil, whom she meets in Paris, helps Einar to resurrect his identity as Lily. The self-conflict, the conflict of gender identity and the support gained in restoring that identity, form the crux of this movie. The path to go against the conventional norms of the society, with the companionship of love, will take you through the immense mental and physical sufferings of Lily and Greda. Lily, after being labeled as a schizophrenic and a person sustaining mental chemical imbalance by many so called retrogressive doctors, finally undergoes two painful major Sex Reassignment Surgeries in Dresden, Germany, with the help of a progressive doctor named Warnekros. Considering this movie as the only source, it is shown that Lily Elbe, was the first woman to be operated upon for sex change. The surname ‘Elbe’, was chosen by Lily herself, which is also the name of a river in Dresden.
The treatment of the concepts of pain, dejection and agony, for exploring one’s true identity, handled in the movie, will surely make you feel empathetic and leave you tear-eyed. The aspects of unconditional love and support, projected through Greda’s character, will strengthen your belief in the concept of love. All these events make the plot of this movie intensely gripping.
The actors, Eddie Redmayne as ‘Einar’ and ‘Lily’ and Alicia Vikander as ‘Greda’ have adorned their characters in a flawless way and thus are very convincing. The music for the movie is composed by Alexandre Desplat and is a treat to the ears. It is touching and soothing indeed.
‘The Danish Girl’ is brilliantly directed by Tom Hooper and was released in the year 2015. It is based on the novel by the same title, written by David Ebershoff.
The movie is a tribute to all those who take pride in frankly sporting their identity and also for those, who firmly stand with them. So, wait no more and watch “The Danish Girl” for a graceful journey of existence.
-Punit Nitin Kawathekar
Faculty, ELTIS