This story has never been told before, communicated in this way or created by such an astute and perceptive writer/director/actor like Isabel Sandoval.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 18, 2020

The expression here is one of shared humanity regardless of background, gender identity, race or creed. The common language being used here is cinema.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 10, 2020

Ms. Sandoval is a confident storyteller with a fondness for the quirks and surprises of character -- any character who comes into view.

| Aug 28, 2020

This film is haunting, and this film is upsetting, but it's hopeful in a way too. It's hopeful because it says here is this woman and despite the cruelty of the world, she's going to step forward into the next day with her entire self.

| Aug 27, 2020

Sandoval's inspired editing draws the film's relevant themes together with unexpected precision.

| Original Score: B+ | Aug 27, 2020

Isabel Sandoval has a light tough with some weighty subject matter.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 26, 2020

A gorgeous and delicate picture, an understated work that opens a window on an intimate world.

| Aug 26, 2020

The mood is meditative, the camera patient; yet the film is too dramatically shy and narratively slight to stir.

| Aug 25, 2020

Notable not just for the deftness of its overall assembly and performances, but for its approaching hot-button issues of the moment... in ways that are insightful without being heavy-handed.

| Jan 11, 2020

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.

| Sep 6, 2019

The shared experience between the filmmaker and the subject of the film allows for a character study of depth and intimacy. However, the story itself - a slightly soapy 'romance against the odds' narrative - presents few surprises.

| Sep 6, 2019