Olivia lives in Olga's home in Brooklyn, where she works day and night as a caregiver for the elderly lady. When the American man she's been secretly paying for a green card marriage backs out, Olivia gets romantically involved with Alex, Olga's grandson with whom she hopes to find affection and security. But when Alex finds out that Olivia is transgender, things get complicated. In this third film, Isabel Sandoval manages to capture herself as the true actress and author she is. Lingua Franca is not an autobiography but rather an autoportrait, and depicts her as the mistress of her own pleasures and as the bearer of a necessary trans female gaze. The film is reminiscent of a somewhat less cruel Fassbinder, nevertheless approaching its damned characters with the same perilous assurance.
