Fanfic Review: An Impressive Perspective of Self-Discovery

Fanfic Review: The Polish film is also titled Fanfik. Netflix’s latest high school drama stars Alina Szewczyk as Toska/Tosiek, Dobromir Dymecki as Marcin, Jan Cięciara as Leon, Ignacy Lies as Mars, Krzysztof Oleksyn as Konrad, Agnieszka Rajda as Roksana, Oskar Rybaczek as Artur and others. Directed by Marta Karwowska, the story is co-written by Marta and Grzegorz Jaroszuk. The film is 95 minutes long.

Non-Polish speakers, no need to worry. The Netflix film has English subtitles, and it is also dubbed in English. 

Netflix’s Fanfik Review Contains Spoilers

Plot Summary

In Fanfic Netflix, we meet a 17-year-old high school girl Toska, who is often considered “different” by her classmate. To keep herself busy and away from all the noise, Toska writes fanfiction online. Fan fiction is a piece of writing where people take real characters and put them in imaginary situations. A lot of young writers love the amalgamation of creating stories with a touch of fiction and non-fiction.

Toska develops a crush on a new boy named Leon. The closer Toska gets to Leon, the more she discovers who she is. Toska becomes Tosiek, a boy. But the journey of self-discovery is a challenging one. Not all people around are accepting of Tosiek’s real self. How does the story end for Toseik? Does he end up with Leon? We find out everything in the end.

Fanfic Movie Review: Discussion

Over the last few years, Netflix has dropped several LGBTQ+ titles like Grace and Frankie, Heartstopper, Young Royals, and more. Fanfik movie (2023) is another beautiful addition to the list. In the first 20 minutes, director Marta Karwowska takes us deep into Toska’s mind and world. Toska steals her dad’s pills to control her anger, as she is often enraged. Along with the pills, what calms Toska is her fanfiction writing.

Initially, I thought Toska’s pent-up rage was because of how some guys constantly sexualised her. Toska never paid attention to these remarks and never respected these bullies. Her fanfiction world was a great escape from what was happening in reality. But when it came to her true self, Toska couldn’t hide anymore. Toska feels happy, their true self and calm when they realise they are a boy. Even if they’re born as a girl, internally, Tosiek never felt any connection to the “gender” the world had boxed him into.

Seeing Toska’s transition to Tosiek is heartwarming. But it’s not a perfect society. Some people, even young ones, refuse to accept there’s more than just male and female gender. We witness transphobia and mockery of people like Tosiek in Netflix’s Fanfic. Now, along with being a story of gender dysphoria, the Polish film is also a love story. So how does Leon react to everything? You will have to watch the movie to know the same.

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Fanfic doesn’t intend to start a dialogue about LGBTQ+ rights, as that’s secondary. The makers highlight how many people like Toseik want to feel like themselves and live peacefully, without being in a state of annoyance or confusion. They want to understand and accept themselves first before expecting the world to do so. Hence, the narrative feels raw and impactful without any preachy speeches about what it means to be transgender, especially by the main character.

The Polish film also focuses on how girls are often insulted for being okay with themselves. One of the teachers leaves no opportunity to humiliate a girl who’s conventionally pretty and dresses up well. The teacher doesn’t care if the girl is good academically. She is more bothered about how her beauty is a distraction for herself and others. The girl in the story fails to understand why the lecturer assumes she isn’t intelligent!

Regarding the drawbacks, Fanfik Polish film loses track in the last 20 minutes. To give a happy ending, things are wrapped in haste. Initially, Leon is presented as a manic pixie dream boy. But he also has a past. I wish the makers would’ve delved more into it. He played a key role in Tosiek getting closer to his true self. Seeing him getting tossed aside and later pulled back for a romantic happy ending seems unfair.

Actor Alina Szewczyk is exceptional as Toska/Tosiek. Even though the focus is entirely on Tosiek from the beginning, Alina makes the character look like a mystery with her performance. Jan Cięciara as Leon is my favourite, who I feel was quite underutilised. Like Tosiek, Leon could’ve also had his own story running simultaneously. Anyway, the actor does a good job throughout.

Fanfic Review: Final Thoughts

Overall, Fanfic or Fanfik on Netflix is a good watch. It gives a different and impressive perspective on self-discovery and gender dysphoria without making it look forced or preachy. Barring the last 20 minutes, you will enjoy every bit of it.

Fanfic is now streaming on Netflix.

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