One of last year’s (largely) unsung gems was The Second Mother, a well-tuned mix of social drama, parental comedy, and economic critique, and I’m glad to see writer-director Anna Muylaert is already back with a new film, Don’t Call Me Son, that begins its U.S. run in a matter of days. It should go without saying, then, that I’m also happy to premiere a brief clip, which gives some taste of Muylaert’s formal patience and comedic sense.
For context, Don’t Call Me Son concerns Pierre, an androgynous man whose “mother” is arrested upon being revealed to have stolen him and another girl at birth. A reunion with the biological parents hits some bumps in the road, given his lifestyle — shades of which can be seen in this brief footage. If reviews from this year’s Berlinale are any judge, the resulting picture is entirely worthy of its concept and talents.
Don’t Call Me Son will open at New York’s Film Forum on November 2 and expand from there. Watch the clip below: