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| Alexandra and Sin-Dee in Tangerine--Sean Baker (2015) |
Montreal is a city full of cinephiles. Opening night of the Fantasia Film Festival 2015 in the Salle J.A. de Seve, and people are lined up patiently to see the darling of Sundance, Sean Baker's
Tangerine, a film chronicling the adventures of two transgender women prostitutes and an Armenian cabbie in West Hollywood on Christmas Eve. On paper, that description wouldn't necessarily have people lining up in droves. Yet the film is full of sweetness and wit, even in its zaniest moments as the camera propulsively follows Sin-dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) across L.A. on a mission to confront her man, Chester, who has cheated on her while she spent the last 28 days in prison (copping to
his possession charge). Her fellow trans sex worker, and best friend Alexandra (Mya Taylor) lets this information slip out in the first 2 minutes of the film, and from then on the "drama" never stops. Sin-dee and Alexandra's day is interspersed with Razmik's (Karren Karagulian) experiences as he picks up a variety of eccentric fares. As the day goes on, viewers discover that Razmik and the ladies' paths intersect in significant ways, culminating in an epic showdown in a donut shop.
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| Sin-dee finds her cheating fish, Dinah (Mickey O'Hagan) |
I admit, I was worried about
Tangerine despite all its glowing hype. A white guy makes a "funny" film about poor transgender prostitutes of color--the possibility for stereotypes and caricatures just overwhelms my mind. The fact that Baker cast Rodriguez and Taylor, two actual transgender women of color, is a point in the right direction. The film is funny in a witty, wisecracking manner, but counterbalanced by some thoughtful poignancy. For a good portion of the U.S. (and elsewhere), Christmas eve is a time of family gatherings, gift giving, and good cheer. Just as many people experience the holiday as just another day of work. Where
Tangerine really finds its heart is in how some beautifully crafted characters experience
family as something a person
makes rather than a community into which they are born.
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| Just another night in L.A. |
Baker shot the film entirely on an Iphone 5, giving the film a sense of intimacy that hints at Dogme filmmaking. That slick video blur really serves the film best when in the heat of the action as the camera chases after Sin-dee traversing the city, on its streets and many forms of public transportation. That feeling of proximity is also especially intense in Razmik's cab, as he converses with his fares, or has a memorable encounter with Alexandra in a car wash. The soundtrack is also really striking, ranging from hip-hop to classical in a masterfully cut parade of image and sound. I've heard some complaints about the jump cuts, but I think they are a perfect way to give the film its lively energy. Well worth seeing, but not as mind-blowing as the hype suggests.
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| Lake Mahar--Julian Yuri Rodriguez (2015) |
The fun of Fantasia is the shorts programming that tends to surprise you when you least expect it. I forgot that so many of these films open with a short, usually one that is carefully programmed along with the feature.
Lake Mahar was really, really nuts. A little stilted, kind of gross, and check out the blurb on the Fantasia site: "The King Arthur legend is adapted to become a nightmare of Caucasian
emasculation on Miami's Flagler Street as one man's family threatens to
be torn apart by invaders from all sides." Really?? I definitely got the white masculinity in crisis part, but I must have missed something. Maybe the "snail meningitis" was catchy. The female characters made my skin crawl, which is never a great sign, and white guys always seem to be in crisis. Please.
