Lingua Franca (2019) User Reviews (6)

Cinema Omnivore - Lingua Franca (2019) 6.8/10

[lasttimeisaw · 7/10 · 6 March 2021]

"Olivia's secret is hers to keep, it is up to her when she is ready to divulge it to Alex (in fact, she proves her honesty in front of Alex's proposal), whereas Alex is eventually put on his mettle and willing to accept Olivia as who she is, but he makes a prior mistake which turns out to be fatal. Sandoval is so determined to dignify Olivia that even a marriage out of love is unfeasible when it is marred by deceit, which must seem like a mote in Alex's eyes. He deems that he has done a good deed (an entitlement he earns solely by birthright), but Olivia's near silent response is louder than any words."

read my full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks

A fresh, courageous and promising surprise

[roger-99-171599 · 8/10 · 26 August 2020]

Writer-Director Isabel Sandoval's personal and intimate drama follows the on-the-edge life of a Transgender Filipina caregiver who becomes involved with the ex-con grandson of the elderly lady she works for.

Erotic, provocative and courageous, she gives a superb performance as the protagonist, an undocumented immigrant struggling to get a Green Card through an arranged/paid marriage, after living in the US illegally for several years.

She inclusively and delicately builds up compassion, tension and suspense around her characters, first observing the emotions and obstacles surging for each of them: the fading memory of grandmother, the effects of on-probation anxiety experienced by Alex and his affecting return and attempts to make it right, the accomplishment of her friend's much-awaited wedding. Despite her hopelessness, Olivia plays a major figure of strength and reliability within, inspiring them to reach for their goals and step forward, while she herself is still dreaming of Mr. Right and mostly running against time, civil laws and bureaucracy to gain rights and freedom.

Nominated for the Queer Lion Award at last year's Venice Film Festival, Sandoval scored a relatable, timely and moving drama.

(Array Releasing. 8/26. Select Theaters and On Netflix.)

Beauty beyond words

[JillV99 · 8/10 · 10 January 2021]

So relevant and poignant. I'm not trans but I could really feel all the pain and stress sandoval comments on not only as a trans woman but an immigrant living in new york city

Psychological Effects Of Sexuality & Immigration

[zac-68274 · 7/10 · 31 August 2020]

Exploring the Consciousness of transsexualism and immigration psychological scars.

A subtly powerful, compelling drama of life in the margins

[markussia · 10/10 · 24 June 2020]

Not too many films with an ostensibly social-realist premise can also be lyrical and sensuous. A drama of lingering pauses and silences, ones which bear a heavier emotional weight than what the film explicitly shows or what its characters divulge.

I tried. I could not. Because I love a trans.

[cneterer · 5/10 · 8 August 2022]

I have been fighting for 6 years to bring my trans fiancee here to America. A trans from Cebu like Olivia is supposed to be.

I am filled with rage at this movie. Not only for the character of Alex being such a wimpy useless man, but also at creator Sandoval for passing as a trans woman.

She could have made an equally strong statement about immigration in America without passing.

Olivia's panic at Alex hiding her passport had nothing to do with being trans. Any undocumented immigrant in America would freak out over that regardless of gender.

GLAAD loved this movie while lambasting Scarlet Johansson for trying to portray a trans man in a movie. I guess they forgot about Hilary Swank in "Boys Don't Cry."

I wanted to get closer to my Dawn. Donny Rey, in her dead name. Instead, this movie only enraged me for a cisgender woman saying she was trans when her story was about immigration more than LGBTQ+ bias. Her exposed breasts in the sex scene. I have been with Dawn in Cebu. Neither her nor her friends could afford surgery before coming to America. This was definitely not "The Crying Game."

I feel pity for Olivia. What is done to her in the film is horrible. But, from my background, seeing what Sandoval did, I feel no more pity her than I do Alex.

My Dawn has told me of such treatment for years in her native Philippines.

I will not forgive Sandoval for basking in the adoration of passing. Nor will I forgive GLAAD.