Sin-Dee and Alexandra are not transsexuals, not homosexuals, not drag queens, not confused young men theirs is a story simply about the minds and emotions of two women, who just happened to have been born into a biologically male vessel. In several powerful scenes throughout this film, and especially in the last sequence, it occurred to me with much clarity, that at its heart this is a story about the life experiences, love affairs, heartache, friendship, betrayal, etc., of two women. Not long after the first openly transgender actor to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, Laverne Cox from “ Orange is the New Black,” and amidst the media frenzy surrounding Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner’s well publicized gender transition we have a film and two performances in “Tangerine” that get to the true root of the transgender discussion. Perhaps the most impressive achievement amongst the variety of new ground broken by this micro-budget tour de force is the socio-psychological impression many audience members will take away from the potent naturalism conveyed through its characterization of transgender people, especially via the magnificently raw yet nuanced performances by Rodriguez and Taylor. We told Mark we wanted to make a personal film that took place in that area and he gave us the thumbs up.” So Chris and I decided that we wanted to explore that world and, like my other films, we knew there would be an extensive research process. Commenting on this process and the seedy section of Hollywood the film highlights, Baker remarked, “it is notorious for some of its underground economy, in particular sex work and drug use. With wind put in their sails by Indie film renaissance man and “Tangerine” Producer Mark Duplass (“Togetherness,” “Safety Not Guaranteed”), Baker and his co-writer Chris Bergoch, along with Mya Taylor who Baker met at a LGBTQ Center in Hollywood, put in their due diligence while developing the script. Instead of the strife and tribulations of post war rural Italy this modern use of Neorealist conventions dissects the hotly debated issue of gender identification in contemporary urban America, zeroing in on the fringe lifestyle characteristics and dire social circumstances at the root of the issue. Commensurate with this socially conscientious post World War II film movement, which were almost exclusively shot on location, featuring the destitute working class people inhabiting them, Baker gets inside the marrow of the raw natural environment his story takes place in, going as far as to cast previously nonprofessional actors who are actual living members of the world the film is exploring. Winner of an Independent Spirit Award (Robert Altman Award) for his 2012 film “ Starlet,” “Tangerine” director Sean Baker has employed an innovative filmmaking approach both technologically and narratively, weaving together a unique and kinetic character study in the aesthetic vein of the game changing Italian Neorealism films of the 1940s and 50s. Adding fuel to the fire, the plucky Sin-Dee also discovers via Alexandra that Chester has been cavorting with someone whose anatomical plumbing is naturally female, referring to her pejoratively as a “fish.” This sends Sin-Dee into a revenge seeking fury, as she hits the streets in search of the two perpetrators of the alleged cuckoldry. The central plot of this modern urban odyssey unfolds when Sin-Dee, having just been released from a short stint in jail, vexedly learns from Alexandra as she inadvertently spills the beans that Sin-Dee’s pimp boyfriend Chester, played by consummate indie powerhouse James Ransone, has been cheating on her. Filmed on location in various Los Angeles haunts, primarily on and around the gritty intersection of Highland avenue and Santa Monica boulevard in the heart of Hollywood, the story centers around two transgender sex trade workers and best friends Sin-Dee and Alexandra, played with exquisite naturalism by newcomers Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor respectively. Impressively shot on several iPhone 5s cameras with the help of an anamorphic lens adapter by Moondog Labs, director Sean Baker’s dynamic Sundance hit “ Tangerine” breaks independent filmmaking ground on multiple levels. Transgender Film ‘Tangerine’ Gives New Identity to Modern Neorealism
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