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Puberty and adolescence can be a stressful and confusing time for any teenager. Everything is out of control; the body, hormones, emotions, feelings. Not to mention the pressures of friends and society, paired with the moral inhibitions about love and sex. Our body wants certain things, our peers say we should do certain things, but our parents and society tells us we shouldn't, which makes this acclaimed short an interesting snapshot of one teenage girl's journey.
My Year of Dicks is a semi-autobiographical short written by Pamela Ribon, based on her experiences as a teenager. Directed by Sara Gunnarsdóttir, it is separated in five chapters chronicling a year in the life of Pam (Brie Tilton), as she is determined to lose her virginity. Each chapter follows a different attempt from Pam to "succeed", while featuring different tones and animation styles, culminating with her father giving her the "sex talk" (see an excerpt above).
There have been countless of films about male teenagers determined to lose their virginity, but not nearly as much about female teenagers in the same situation. From that angle, it is refreshing to see Ribon's experiences and perspective brought to life. The story, though, doesn't stray that far from the typical tropes of the genre, and you can probably guess where things will go in the end, but that doesn't make the journey less endearing.
In addition, Gunnarsdótir's decision to distinguish every chapter with a specific tone and animation style makes things feel more alive. The main animation style, which I think is roto-scoping, can be a bit crude but it adds a certain level of unpolishness that I think fits the overall theme. After all, that's how love and sex are usually at first, unpolished and not necessarily as "perfect" as we would expect, but still unique and worth experiencing and remembering.
Grade:
MY YEAR OF DICKS
(2022, Gunnarsdóttir)
(2022, Gunnarsdóttir)
"Pamela, let me tell you, women don't actually like having sex. They like the kissing beforehand, and the hugging and the cuddling after. But the actual... penetration is quite unpleasant for a woman."
Puberty and adolescence can be a stressful and confusing time for any teenager. Everything is out of control; the body, hormones, emotions, feelings. Not to mention the pressures of friends and society, paired with the moral inhibitions about love and sex. Our body wants certain things, our peers say we should do certain things, but our parents and society tells us we shouldn't, which makes this acclaimed short an interesting snapshot of one teenage girl's journey.
My Year of Dicks is a semi-autobiographical short written by Pamela Ribon, based on her experiences as a teenager. Directed by Sara Gunnarsdóttir, it is separated in five chapters chronicling a year in the life of Pam (Brie Tilton), as she is determined to lose her virginity. Each chapter follows a different attempt from Pam to "succeed", while featuring different tones and animation styles, culminating with her father giving her the "sex talk" (see an excerpt above).
There have been countless of films about male teenagers determined to lose their virginity, but not nearly as much about female teenagers in the same situation. From that angle, it is refreshing to see Ribon's experiences and perspective brought to life. The story, though, doesn't stray that far from the typical tropes of the genre, and you can probably guess where things will go in the end, but that doesn't make the journey less endearing.
In addition, Gunnarsdótir's decision to distinguish every chapter with a specific tone and animation style makes things feel more alive. The main animation style, which I think is roto-scoping, can be a bit crude but it adds a certain level of unpolishness that I think fits the overall theme. After all, that's how love and sex are usually at first, unpolished and not necessarily as "perfect" as we would expect, but still unique and worth experiencing and remembering.
Grade: