Tangerine (2015)

Directed by: Sean Baker | 88 minutes | comedy, crime | Actors: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O’Hagan, James Ransone, Alla Tumanian, Luiza Nersisyan, Arsen Grigoryan, Ian Edwards, Clu Gulager, Ana Foxx, Scott Krinsky, Chelcie Lynn, Shih-Ching Tsou, Johs Sussman, Julie Cummings, Jason Stuart

Filmmaker Sean Baker is known for the critically acclaimed ‘The Florida Project’ (2017) starring Willem Dafoe (Dafoe received an Oscar nomination for the role). He actually wanted to make that film much earlier, but was unable to get the financing. That is why he was forced to start on the low-budget production ‘Tangerine’. It’s hard to tell that everything was filmed entirely on an iPhone 5s, especially thanks to Baker’s eye for beautiful, colorful widescreen shots.

We meet transgender prostitutes and best friends Sin-Dee (played very convincingly by Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) and Alexandra (Mya Taylor). When Sin-Dee learns from Alexandra that her boyfriend and pimp cheated on her while she was in prison, she scours the streets of Los Angeles looking for Chester and “that bitch.” Reluctantly, Alexandra goes along, but soon decides she better prepare for her singing performance later that day. In the meantime we also follow father and family man Razmik, a taxi driver who secretly scans the street corners in search of prostitutes like Sin-Dee and Alexandra.

The storylines intersect every now and then until they all eventually come together in a desolate donut tent from where Chester does his pimping business. This scene is in many ways the sum of all the drama, but then manages – without going too far – to end ‘Tangerine’ with the most moving and heartfelt moment in the film. After their friendship takes a serious dent, Alexandra makes amends by giving her wig to Sin-Dee after a bunch of drunk guys make Sin-Dee’s wig unwearable. This sincere and sensitive moment makes the viewer realize that the strong and flamboyant characters are all too realistic portraits, reflecting a harsh reality.

‘Tangerine’ is an energetic and colorful film, but it tells a sad and disturbing story. Sin-Dee, Alexandra and the apparently large numbers of prostitutes in LA lead a hopeless existence. Without judging them, Baker captures this subculture in the city of glitter and glamor in great detail. The film is a raw ‘slice of life’ and is never boring; Rodrigues and Taylor’s acting performances and mutual chemistry make you empathize with every smile and every tear.