Binary (2024)

Although only running for 42 minutes, there's more packed into Binary than you can find in a hundred other movies from last year. I decided to review it here for two reasons. One, the content makes it the kind of film I will now go out of my way to include in conversations that push back against the ongoing attempts to erase trans people. Two, it was so good that I figured I would do what little I could to promote the direction of David-Jan Bronsgeest and writing of Tim Koomen.

Binary is all about Nisha (Inaya Zarakhel), a trans woman feeling tense as she prepares herself for upcoming gender-affirming surgery. She's unsure about exactly how things will go, but equally unsure about how everything else in her life, considering the very mixed reactions she gets from others as she enjoys some nightlife with a friend. Oh, there are also some demons here. They may not seem to be real, but demons never seem that way until it's too late to fix your misconception.

Anchored by the excellent performance of Zarakhel, who identifies as a Hijra/transgender woman (according to my very small amount of online research), Binary manages to be both grittily realistic and vibrantly fantastical in equal measure, with neither aspect negatively affecting the other. The visuals and energy are wrapped around a core of authenticity, all thanks to the writing, direction, and acting. 

Aside from Zarakhel, Charlie Chan Dagelet is also a compelling onscreen presence, and the two work very well together as they encounter a number of men who may or may not wish to enjoy their company. Due to the core cast being so small, I'll mention those men here - Yannick Jozefzoon, Bram Klappe, Hugo Koolschijn, and Stephen Rutayishire - and give them due credit for their portrayal of typical people who can play nice until one perceived deception turns them into something mean and dangerous.

Thought-provoking and confrontational, but (unlike some of the characters onscreen) not in an aggressive way, Binary serves as a reminder that those who experience gender dysphoria are not usually making any of their decisions lightly. They are not after a quick fix, although that may often stem from knowing how impossible that is, not trying to be trendy, and not able to move around any central anchor point within themselves as waves of differing thoughts and doubts continually try to dash them to the ground and drown them in a sea of their own insecurities.

Bronsgeest and Koomen also worked together on a feature, Jimmy, in the same year that they collaborated on this, and I hope that shows them fulfilling the great amount of potential they both display here. If I can access it, and if it's as good as this, then I'll do my bit to help get it on everyone's radar.

8/10

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