AllMovie

If Su Friedrich's Hide and Seek is not the definitive statement on what it means to grow up a lesbian, it's only because, as the film makes clear, such a statement is impossible to make. Friedrich's interviewees offer a wide variety of experiences of sexual awakening -- some painful, and some comical. Some were tomboys, while some were comfortable in more traditional feminine roles. The childhood photos and old home movies interspersed through the film offer more evidence of the variety of pubescent lesbian experiences, as girls from a wide variety of social and ethnic backgrounds are shown. These elements alone would have made for a compelling documentary, but it's the fractured narrative of Lou (Chels Holland) that makes it special. This gentle, affectionate story of pre-adolescent longing, beautifully rendered in black-and-white by talented cinematographer Jim Denault, captures how ordinary girlish behavior and play gather new meaning for Lou as she struggles with unfamiliar and confusing feelings of desire. It's an intimate and deeply nostalgic slice-of-girl-life that elevates Friedrich's agreeable documentary to a higher level.