''Change of Sex'' or ''Sex Change'' ( es, Cambio de Sexo) is a

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

Spanish film, written and directed by

Vicente Aranda Vicente Aranda Ezquerra (; 9 November 1926 – 26 May 2015) was a Spanish film director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer. Due to his refined and personal style, he was one of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers. He started as a f ...

. It stars

Victoria Abril Victoria Mérida Rojas (born 4 July 1959), better known as Victoria Abril, is a Spanish film actress and singer based in France. She is possibly best known to international audiences for her performance in the film ''Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!'' by ...

as José Maria. The film dramatizes the story of a young feminine boy, who moves to the city to explore his desire to become a woman.

Synopsis

In a small town outside of Barcelona, José Maria is a teenager who starts to identify as a woman. While he begins to show his desire to be a woman through his appearance, the reactions within his household make things more difficult for him. His rude father is a male chauvinist who, afraid of his son's softness, puts him to work chopping wood. Then, his father takes him to a cabaret show, to expose José Maria to women. However at a show, José Maria is exposed to a dancer named Bibi, who is a

transgender woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and som ...

, for the first time. After the show, his father tries to force José Maria to have sex with a prostitute, but he refuses. José Maria flees from there feeling guilty. He escapes to the city where he tries to be accepted as a woman with tragic results. While working as a hairdresser, he meets Bibi, the trans woman who works at the cabaret and José Maria goes to work with her. In the show, he is not José Maria anymore, but Maria José. At the cabaret, he falls in love with Durán, the owner of the bar. Durán, reluctant at the beginning, nevertheless starts a relationship with Maria José, who wants to go all the way, and plans to travel to London to have a gender reassignment operation.

Cast

as José María/María José *

Lou Castel Lou Castel (born Ulv Quarzell; 28 May 1943) is a Swedish actor who became known through his work in Italian films. Life and career The son of a Swedish father and an Irish mother, Castel was born Ulv Quarzell in Bogotá, Colombia, where his fa ...

as Durán *

Fernando Sancho Fernando Sancho Les (7 January 1916 – 31 July 1990) was a Spanish actor. Biography He was born in Zaragoza, in Aragon, Spain on 7 January 1916 and died at Hospital Militar Gómez Ulla in Madrid on 31 July 1990 from a liver failure during o ...

as José Maria's father *

Rafaela Aparicio Rafaela Díaz Valiente MML (9 April 1906 – 9 June 1996) better known as Rafaela Aparicio was a famous Spanish film and theatre actress. She made more than 100 films. The most remembered are Carlos Saura's ''Anna and the Wolves'', ''Mama Tu ...

as Pilar * Daniel Martín as Pedro *

Montserrat Carulla Montserrat Carulla i Ventura (19 September 1930 – 24 November 2020) was a Spanish actress. Career Coming from the amateur theatre, she completed her training with courses at the Institut del Teatre de Barcelona (Barcelona Theatre Institute) a ...

as José Maria's mother *

Bibi Andersen Bibi is a given name, nickname and surname. Notable people with this name As a nickname or stage name * Bibi Andersson (1935-2019), Swedish actress * Bibi (artist) (born 1964), French visual artist Fabrice Cahoreau * Bibi Baskin (born 19 ...

as Bibí *

Mario Gas Mario Gas Cabré is a Spanish actor and director. and winner of a Goya Award. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, on February 5, 1947, while his actor parents were on tour he has Uruguayan citizenship. He is one of the most important figures of the p ...

as Álvaro * Maria Elías as Lolita

References

External links

* 1976 films 1970s Spanish-language films 1976 drama films 1976 LGBT-related films Spanish LGBT-related films Films directed by Vicente Aranda Transgender-related films LGBT-related drama films Spanish drama films 1977 drama films 1977 films 1970s Spanish films {{1970s-Spain-film-stub