One of the movies receiving a lot of buzz at the Sundance Film Festival this year was Sean Baker‘s Tangerine. Initial word spread around when the Next program selection was revealed to have been shot entirely with iPhone cameras, specifically from three 5s models. Then critical reaction to the comedy, about a transgender sex worker navigating the streets of Los Angeles looking for her cheating boyfriend on Christmas Eve, was mostly very positive, as you can see from the noteworthy blurbs from the New York Times, Village Voice and Buzzfeed used in this first Red Band trailer.
We didn’t post a review here at FSR during the fest, but our own Neil Miller was not one of its many fans. He gave Tangerine only 1/2 star on Letterboxd, writing that it was “too aggro … the cinematic equivalent of being screamed at for 90 minutes.” FSR contributor Dan Schindel, writing for Movie Mezzanine, admitted that “this is a shrill movie” and “can be a bit much to take at times,” but he ultimately praises “the ragged humanity that pulses through this film” and calls it “a messy romp and ridiculously fun.”
Trans actors Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor star as the cheated-on prostituted and her friend, and they look like an absolute riot here (James Ransone plays the cheater). From the trailer, Tangerine looks rather low-budget at times but it also looks like it has the spirit and raw energy that we rarely see from American indie cinema, especially at Sundance, these days. And I’m assuming the soundtrack of the movie is as pumping as it seems, once again proving that indies most easily transcend their visual quality through the use of music, particularly tunes with far greater production value.
Tangerine hits theaters as one of this summer’s many great non-blockbuster releases on July 10th.
Watch the Green Band version of the trailer here. And check out the official synopsis:
It’s Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee (newcomer Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend (James Ransone, STARLET, “Generation Kill”) hasn’t been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra (newcomer Mya Taylor), embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles, including an Armenian family dealing with their own repercussions of infidelity. Director Sean Baker’s prior films (STARLET, PRINCE OF BROADWAY) brought rich texture and intimate detail to worlds seldom seen on film. TANGERINE follows suit, bursting off the screen with energy and style. A decidedly modern Christmas tale told on the streets of L.A., TANGERINE defies expectation at every turn.
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