the magic is within each of us
by
Douglas Messerli
El
Ruso de Rocky agency (screenplay and direction) She, un cuento de J&B (She,
a J&B Tale) / 2022 [3 minutes] [commercial advertisement]
Made
for the Diageo-owned Spanish Scotch Whiskey brand, J&B, She begins
with an elderly man who suddenly appears to have the desire to explore a
different aspect of himself. When his wife leaves the room, he steals her
lipstick tube from her small compact, sneaks off to the bathroom and attempts
to paint his lips red.
The
result is quite disastrous, and he quickly wipes his lips off with a paper
towel.
A few days later, however, he purchases a
small makeup kit in a local convenience shop and far more carefully applies not
only lipstick, but eye-shadow and liner, even carefully applying make- up to
his cheeks.
At a local bus stop he carefully inspects a
large poster for clues on how to add a bit of glitter to the upper eye, and a
few days later he again makes up his face, Charles Aznavour’s version of the
song “She” swelling up in chords in the background.
A knock of the bathroom door by his wife
forces him to quickly wipe away all evidence.
When his wife is asleep,
he sneaks out of bed and again transforms his face, quite successfully this
time into that of a beautifully made-up elder woman.
We are given no clue as to why this elderly
man has taken a sudden interest in transforming his face: has he always
secretly desired to become a drag queen; has he finally determined to take a
leap into becoming transgender?
Either of these possibilities remain, but we soon see a third possibility when we see family arriving, a small written band across the screen announcing the arrival of his 26-year-old grandson Álvaro arriving for Christmas dinner.
As
the family wanders through the house, lighting candles and preparing the
dinner, the grandfather pulls his grandson aside, taking him into the bathroom
and locking the door, this time using his newly developed makeup artistry
skills on the boy.
The family has already gathered around the
table as he brings the now quite beautiful 26-year old Ana (played by Ella Di
Amore, a 26-year-old multidisciplinary trans artist) to the table, family
members’ faces lighting up in joyous smiles to see, perhaps for the first time,
this transgender boy’s full feminine beauty and recognize her as new being.
It’s a real tear-jerker, not just for me
but evidently for dozens of viewers who have commented on the now highly popular
video posted on YouTube and other internet locations.
Ana’s
mother gives her a hug, and soon after the grandfather toast to the entire
table, as the words, “La magic no solo está en la Navidad. También está en
nosotros” (“Magic is not only at Christmas. It is also in us.”). I’ll drink to
that!
At this
time in 2025, when the US government is attempting to demean and demonize the
entire transgender community, this brave Spanish advertisement is a truly
remarkable Christmas gift from three years ago.
Los
Angeles, January 1, 2026
Reprinted
from My Queer Cinema blog (January 2026).
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