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Review

Out French director Sébastien Lifshitz (Come Undone) returns with this winner of the 2004 Teddy Award for Best Feature Film at the Berlin Film Festival. Sylvie, a big-city transgendered prostitute, returns to her rural birthplace to be at her dying mother’s side. Along for the experience are her soulmates and lovers, Mikhail, an illegal Russian immigrant who speaks little French, and Jamel, a young Arab hustler. As days go by, the three are flooded with memories of their often painful early years and the surprising circumstances under which they met.

Although much of Wild Side is somber, Lifshitz is ultimately interested in the uplifting fact that this trio of very lucky souls found unconditional love, acceptance and camaraderie in each other. Utilizing little dialogue and some explicit sexual moments, Lifshitz directs with an expert hand and lyrical visual sense; his almost entirely nonprofessional cast — Sylvie is played by Stéphanie Michelini, a real-life transsexual discovered in a café — bring a quiet power to this gorgeously affecting masterwork. (French with English subtitles)

 -- Lawrence Ferber