I'm a bit of a sucker for film stories told over the period of a day. These snap shot of life style movies speak to me in how they restrain the story telling to a moment in time. It's like synecdoche, a piece representing the whole, a way of learning about a character or their journey by watching one bit. It's also about the way life just comes to a head sometime.
Mutt, the story of Feña coming into contact with three important figures in his life but for the first time post-transition, is structured this way. This gives the film a chance to explore issues of presentation and bodies in ways that a lot of queer cinema does not. Mutt quite boldly goes there, creating a real intimacy between its main characters and its audience.
Mehiel is raw and honest in his portrayal of Feña and this moment in his life when there is a real shift in how he is seen and how he can be. The film doesn't go in the direction you always think it will and its exploration of the little moments of trans life is so effectively portrayed through the smart and sensitive screenplay and the great cast.
Mutt is truly accessible and may be for many audiences the first time they are considering some issues. But this accessibility does not mean it handles the story it is tackling with any lack of complexity or nuance, nor does it treat its subject as spectacle. Instead its honest portrayal of a pivotal day in the life of a trans man honours both its subject, the trans audience, and the cis audience that is engaging with it. It is a comforting watch as it is gives Feña a day where he gets to grow and struggle but start into the next day with an optimism.
Mutt
Starring: Lio Mehiel, Cole Doman, Mimi Ryder, Alejandro Goic, Jari Jones
Writer/Director: Vuk Lungulov-Klotz
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