Comparing The Theme Of Self Discovery In Film And Tomboy

In the films The Adventures of Félix, directed by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, and Tomboy, directed by Céline Sciamma, both protagonists go through a journey of self discovery and identity searching. Though very different in the substance of the story, the theme is relatively similar, covering concepts ranging from prejudice and peer inclusion or rejection to family tensions and romantic interests. Félix’s story follows him on his own, continuously meeting new people with whom he shares his narrative. His journey of self discovery has the guise of paternal discovery, but as it progresses, it is clear that it is all about Félix finding himself. To contrast, Laure/Mikaël goes through their journey with the same group of people, their

He starts out the story in Northern France, where he lives, which is far more white than areas farther south in France. His absent father’s last known address is in Marseilles, located in Southern France, where there are more people of color, given its proximity to and France’s history with Africa. The film brings up the race factor multiple times. The viewers see that his mother is white (in a photograph), so it must be his father that he gets these features from. This is one of the reasons Félix says he wants to find his father: he wants to know what he looks like in comparison to Félix himself. His boyfriend, Daniel, jokes that, of course, he’d look “like you, but with a darker mane.” Nonetheless, Félix remains determined to go, and the racism that he experiences on his journey is as much a part of his journey as the narrative of finding his father is. In addition, Félix is also HIV positive and takes medication to fight the disease. His seropositivity is not directly talked about often, but it is also a thread throughout the narrative that is another part of his

They are both finding themselves, but in varying ways. Félix says he is going to finally meet his father, but really he is finding himself. It is along this journey that he also finds a family in strangers, expressed in the title of each new chapter of his trip. He is learning that he has to live with the lot he has received, and that his life can still be meaningful even if he never knows his biological father. The “père” tells him that he’s being selfish, looking for his father only to annoy him, because, clearly, if he had wanted to be in Félix’s life, he certainly would have shown up in some way by now. He is learning that perhaps the people you choose to make a part of your life are much more important than those who have left it. Laure/Mikaël, however, knows that they are on a journey of self discovery and self expression. It is their conscious choice to introduce themself as Mikaël, even though Lisa assumed they were a boy in the first place. That was a first meeting, and the time to correct her if they were sure of themself and their gender identity. Not only that, but they are teaching themself how to present more “like a boy.” On the field, when they’re playing football, they watch the other boys and mimic them, spitting at the ground and pulling off their shirts, in an attempt to act more like them with the air of naturalness. They are trying out what