X
- 2020
- Unrated
- ARRAY Releasing
- 1 h 29 m
- 2020
- Unrated
- ARRAY Releasing
- 1 h 29 m
Summary Olivia (Isabel Sandoval), an undocumented Filipino transwoman, works as a caregiver to Olga (Lynn Cohen), an elderly Russian woman, in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. When Olivia runs out of options to attain legal status in the US, she becomes romantically involved with Alex (Eamon Farren), Olga's adult grandson, in the pursuit of a marriage-...
- 2020
- Unrated
- ARRAY Releasing
- 1 h 29 m
- 2020
- Unrated
- ARRAY Releasing
- 1 h 29 m
Lingua Franca
61
6.4
Summary Olivia (Isabel Sandoval), an undocumented Filipino transwoman, works as a caregiver to Olga (Lynn Cohen), an elderly Russian woman, in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. When Olivia runs out of options to attain legal status in the US, she becomes romantically involved with Alex (Eamon Farren), Olga's adult grandson, in the pursuit of a marriage-...
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
61
54% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
46% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 Critic Reviews
61
54% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
46% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The film’s greatest achievement is the effortlessness with which Sandoval captures several microcosms simultaneously happening in New York City.
Lingua Franca — which made a splash at the Venice Film Festival last year, the first film by a trans woman to be featured at the festival — is a gorgeous and delicate picture, an understated work that opens a window on an intimate world.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 9 User Ratings
6.4
44% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
56% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 9 User Ratings
6.4
44% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
56% Mixed
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
By combining two challenging experiences like being a trans woman and at the same time an illegal immigrant, Lingua Franca becomes a very relevant film.
The story is one that could easily have chosen darker and much more dramatic paths than what it ends up presenting, but at the same time this provides a sense of naturalness that would have been more difficult to apply in a harsher drama.
I do criticize the director for not digging a little deeper into the situations she exposes, because even though these situations are not just on the surface, let's say it lacks a little more in-depth exploration and a bit of more background for her characters.
Very convincing, but overall it ends up being overly timid and discreet.
Report
Lingua Franca isn’t a screed. Far from it. Sandoval pulls us in gently with long, single takes which are often static, immersing us in the quiet rhythms of the lived-in environment she’s created within the Russian-Jewish neighborhood of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.
Sandoval has made a film with cultural currency and the rich texture of a New York setting for a story as immediate as today’s headlines, and just as sad.
Lingua Franca is notable not just for the deftness of its overall assembly and performances, but for its approaching hot-button issues of the moment (the status/rights of both transpersons and undocumented workers) in ways that are insightful without being heavy-handed.
In the case of a film conceived by a clearly talented artist, one would hope that Sandoval’s work would mirror her potential, but “Lingua Franca,” a film preoccupied with formulaic ideas and distracted by speaking points, falls short of its goals.
While Sandoval's hard-working dedication is admirable, and her semi-autobiographical story full of latent dramatic potential, Lingua Franca is ultimately an underpowered, amateurish disappointment.
Isabel Sandoval has previously written and directed 2 films under her previous male identity Vincent, but this is her first foray after transitioning. She plays an undocumented Filipino trans woman, who works as a caregiver for an elderly Russian. She’s also saving money to send back home, looking for a green-card marriage and constantly stressed from the threats of abrupt deportation. The Russian’s grandson offers some respite and hope, but her own doubts create additional anxiety. Even with the often-static camera and simple setups, the characters are well realized. Even so, the emotions are guarded, which never allows the drama full reign. The narrative sometimes veers abruptly leaving some confusion. Still, this is an interesting low-budget, indie film this is a quite personal and quietly compelling. (In Tagalog, Cebuano and English with NO subtitles, so turn on the CC or you’ll be lost.)
Report
While this story of an undocumented transgender Filipino care giver seeking to find a way to legally remain stateside stems from a potentially engaging premise, it never goes anywhere once launched. The film's slight, underdeveloped narrative, with its many story threads that never fully pan out, yields a picture that flails about in search of focus. That's unfortunate, because writer-director Isabel Sandoval's latest has a rich vein of material to draw from if only it were given the development needed to make it flourish cinematically. What viewers are left with is a meandering piece with lots of long, lingering, gorgeously photographed shots that add little to a story that doesn't know where it ultimately wants to go.
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Production Company
7107 Entertainment
Release Date Aug 26, 2020
Duration 1 h 29 m
Rating Unrated
Genres
Awards
Young Critics Circle, Philippines
• 2 Wins & 6 Nominations
International Cinephile Society Awards
• 1 Win & 5 Nominations
Society of Filipino Film Reviewers
• 1 Win & 5 Nominations