Normal

Atmospheric vignettes in such striking settings as a doctor’s office, a toy factory, and a dirt-bike rally build off of one another in Adele Tulli’s stylized documentary, which reckons with the ever-changing norms around gender identity. Through a diverse cross section of Italian society—including tween pop idols, stage parents, socialites, gamers, and soon-to-be-newlyweds—Tulli finds a humanistic pathos, whether it be in the solitary gaze of a young child, or in the mass groupthink of an exercise class. A standout from the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama section, Normal is a sweeping work of anthropology that looks at the ways that conventional gender expression is instilled and reinforced.