Trans (film)
Encyclopedia
Trans is a 1998
American
independent film
, written for the screen and directed by Julian Goldberger
. The film is based on a story by Julian Goldberger, Michael Robinson, and Martin Garner. The film stars Ryan Daugherty as Ryan Kazinski and was filmed in Fort Myers, Florida
.
-based filmmaker James Herbert
, particularly his collaborations with the band R.E.M.
The rural country store depicted in the film is in actuality The Corkscrew Country Store, in Estero, Florida
as evident by the listing in the credits and the address which is prominently displayed on the front of the store in the film. The Animal Clinic scenes were filmed at the Miracle Mile Animal Clinic in Fort Myers, Florida
, again according to the film's credits.
Later while on trash pickup detail, a fight breaks out between two inmates, and several other inmates (including Kazinski) escape in the confusion. Kazinski and two other inmates are seen running through an orange grove and a swamp, eventually coming to a farmhouse where they enter the house and steal civilian clothes.
The inmates leave the farmhouse and travel down a dirt road to a rural convenience store where Ryan steals an ice cream bar. While he is eating in the restroom, the other two escapees steal a truck and drive away, leaving Ryan behind.
Ryan emerges to find them gone and is questioned by some of the locals who take a liking to him and ask him about his plans and whether he intends to keep running. One of the locals gives Ryan a ride into town.
In the city, Ryan spends time listening to a street musician and talking with a parking meter.
Ryan then ends up in a supermarket where he inhales nitrous oxide
from whipped cream cans and observes and interacts with customers. Upon leaving the supermarket, Ryan steps on the bottle cap of one of two men who are drinking beer on the hood of a car. The men become offended and one proceeds to beat Ryan unconscious.
While unconscious Ryan has a vision of a silhouetted woman against a blue sky.
Ryan is recognized and awakened by three other ex-inmates, with whom he attends a party. He leaves, assuring his friends that he has a place to stay.
Ryan visits his brother, who questions him as to why he ran when he only had one month left of his sentence to serve. Ryan cannot answer, and informs his brother of his plan to go to Colorado and seek his mother. Ryan's brother then reluctantly tells him to leave before he becomes too attached to him again.
Ryan enters a bus station and asks for a one-way ticket to Denver. He discovers that he doesn't have the money for the ticket, and after attempting to bribe the bus station manager he is thrown out of the bus station.
Ryan then hitches a ride with a lady who takes him to a doughnut shop. While she is inside, he discovers a gun in her purse, steals it, and runs away.
Ryan is later approached by one of the other escapees who enlists his help in breaking into a veterinary clinic to steal drugs. The two break in, but while the other inmate steals the drugs, Ryan is distracted by the dogs in the kennels, one of which he frees and later places in the window of his brother's room.
Soon after, Ryan is spotted by police. He pulls out his gun, which the police notice, and then runs. The police fire two shots, but it is never made clear if Ryan is hit.
The following morning, Ryan is seen observing planes taking off and landing at a small airport. He approaches a man sitting at a table and asks if he could take him up. The man notices the gun in Ryan's hand, and we then see the plane taking off. The film ends with Ryan looking out of the window smiling.
magazine writes "Given the state of the arthouse/indie scene these days, it can't be too surprising that a film like Trans is left by the roadside...yet Trans is exactly the sort of smallish, idiosyncratically personal movie that belongs in the arthouse loop; for various reasons it will never draw the Happy, Texas-size crowd, but it will mesmerize the kind of audience that regularly takes a chance on something at a repertory house with an adventurous calendar"
Of the film gaining distribution in 2000, Brett Sokul of Miami New Times
wrote "Despite the reams of praise, conventional industry wisdom saw Trans as "difficult," i.e., not a reliable arthouse ticket-seller. It's an attitude that dramatizes the increasingly commercial pressures on the world of independent film, once a respite from the dictates of the box office but now often just as enslaved to it."
Trans was distributed by Cowboy Booking International.
wrote "Trans itches to be hyper-stylized but settles for occasional flights into coolness". Philadelphia City Paper
wrote "Goldberger’s exceptionally weird debut invokes Jarmusch, Southern Gothic and THX 1138-style sci-fi". Gavin Smith from Film Comment
magazine writes: "Julian Goldberger's idiosyncratic Trans, which follows the nocturnal wanderings and random encounters of a juvenile detention center escapee amid the strip malls and neighborhoods of Ft. Myers, Florida, may have had a budget a fraction of anything in competition, but it showed ten times the inspiration and cinematic integrity." Lawrence Van Gelder from the New York Times wrote "Trans remains a sensitive evocation of youthful turmoil". In a favorable review from the Village Voice, critic Amy Taubin writes: "What's most remarkable about Trans is how faithful it is to Ryan's consciousness and to the way it shifts between fantasy and a mesmerized response to details of the outside world."
The film also caught the attention of producer, Ted Hope
, who offered to produce Goldberger's next feature, The Hawk is Dying
.
1998 in film
-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
, written for the screen and directed by Julian Goldberger
Julian Goldberger
Julian Goldberger is an independent film director based in Los Angeles.Julian studied acting and directing at Florida State University's School of Theatre, afterwords completing New York University's Intensive Film Program and The AFI Conservatory's Directing Program.His critically acclaimed...
. The film is based on a story by Julian Goldberger, Michael Robinson, and Martin Garner. The film stars Ryan Daugherty as Ryan Kazinski and was filmed in Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
.
Background
The film is, in part, inspired by the work of Athens, GeorgiaAthens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
-based filmmaker James Herbert
James Herbert (director)
James Herbert is an American painter and director most known for directing a series of classic music videos for the band R.E.M.. He has also made over forty short films, including John Five and Jumbo Aqua , and directed four independent features: Scars , Speedy Boys , Rabbit Pix and Abandoned...
, particularly his collaborations with the band R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
The rural country store depicted in the film is in actuality The Corkscrew Country Store, in Estero, Florida
Estero, Florida
Estero is a census-designated place in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 18,176. It is the home of Germain Arena, which hosts the home games for the Florida Everblades ECHL hockey team and the Florida Firecats af2 arena football team...
as evident by the listing in the credits and the address which is prominently displayed on the front of the store in the film. The Animal Clinic scenes were filmed at the Miracle Mile Animal Clinic in Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
, again according to the film's credits.
Plot summary
The film opens in the Southwest Florida Youth Detention Center, where we are introduced to the protagonist, Ryan Kazinski (Ryan Daugherty) in his cell, obviously having a difficult time with his confinement. We are also shown the harsh conditions and level of discipline in the facility through prisoner's interactions with guards and Ryan's own experience with the warden.Later while on trash pickup detail, a fight breaks out between two inmates, and several other inmates (including Kazinski) escape in the confusion. Kazinski and two other inmates are seen running through an orange grove and a swamp, eventually coming to a farmhouse where they enter the house and steal civilian clothes.
The inmates leave the farmhouse and travel down a dirt road to a rural convenience store where Ryan steals an ice cream bar. While he is eating in the restroom, the other two escapees steal a truck and drive away, leaving Ryan behind.
Ryan emerges to find them gone and is questioned by some of the locals who take a liking to him and ask him about his plans and whether he intends to keep running. One of the locals gives Ryan a ride into town.
In the city, Ryan spends time listening to a street musician and talking with a parking meter.
Ryan then ends up in a supermarket where he inhales nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas or sweet air, is a chemical compound with the formula . It is an oxide of nitrogen. At room temperature, it is a colorless non-flammable gas, with a slightly sweet odor and taste. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anesthetic and analgesic...
from whipped cream cans and observes and interacts with customers. Upon leaving the supermarket, Ryan steps on the bottle cap of one of two men who are drinking beer on the hood of a car. The men become offended and one proceeds to beat Ryan unconscious.
While unconscious Ryan has a vision of a silhouetted woman against a blue sky.
Ryan is recognized and awakened by three other ex-inmates, with whom he attends a party. He leaves, assuring his friends that he has a place to stay.
Ryan visits his brother, who questions him as to why he ran when he only had one month left of his sentence to serve. Ryan cannot answer, and informs his brother of his plan to go to Colorado and seek his mother. Ryan's brother then reluctantly tells him to leave before he becomes too attached to him again.
Ryan enters a bus station and asks for a one-way ticket to Denver. He discovers that he doesn't have the money for the ticket, and after attempting to bribe the bus station manager he is thrown out of the bus station.
Ryan then hitches a ride with a lady who takes him to a doughnut shop. While she is inside, he discovers a gun in her purse, steals it, and runs away.
Ryan is later approached by one of the other escapees who enlists his help in breaking into a veterinary clinic to steal drugs. The two break in, but while the other inmate steals the drugs, Ryan is distracted by the dogs in the kennels, one of which he frees and later places in the window of his brother's room.
Soon after, Ryan is spotted by police. He pulls out his gun, which the police notice, and then runs. The police fire two shots, but it is never made clear if Ryan is hit.
The following morning, Ryan is seen observing planes taking off and landing at a small airport. He approaches a man sitting at a table and asks if he could take him up. The man notices the gun in Ryan's hand, and we then see the plane taking off. The film ends with Ryan looking out of the window smiling.
Cast
- Ryan Daugherty as Ryan Kazinski
- Jon Daugherty as Little Brother
- Edge Edgerton as Bus Station Manager
- Stephanie Davis as Boston Cream Girl
- Charles Walker as Inmate/Party Rapper
- Elijah Smith as Inmate/Party Rapper
- Jeremiah Robinson as Inmate/Party Rapper
- Marshall Williams III as Drill Guard
- The man at the desk as Ryan looks in a window during the street musician / parking meter scene is played by director, Julian GoldbergerJulian GoldbergerJulian Goldberger is an independent film director based in Los Angeles.Julian studied acting and directing at Florida State University's School of Theatre, afterwords completing New York University's Intensive Film Program and The AFI Conservatory's Directing Program.His critically acclaimed...
.
Screenings
Trans received screenings at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival, the 1999 Berlin Film Festival, the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, and the 1999 South By Southwest Film Festival, and was released in the United States on January 7, 2000. The film has been aired in the U.S. on both The Independent Film Channel, and the Sundance Channel.Distribution
Despite praise from critics and recognition at film festivals, Trans had difficulty in securing distribution. A year after screening at the Sundance Film festival, the film still lacked widespread distribution in the United States. Robert Horton, of Film CommentFilm Comment
Film Comment is an arts and culture magazine published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, of which it is the official publication. Film Comment features critical reviews and in-depth analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world...
magazine writes "Given the state of the arthouse/indie scene these days, it can't be too surprising that a film like Trans is left by the roadside...yet Trans is exactly the sort of smallish, idiosyncratically personal movie that belongs in the arthouse loop; for various reasons it will never draw the Happy, Texas-size crowd, but it will mesmerize the kind of audience that regularly takes a chance on something at a repertory house with an adventurous calendar"
Of the film gaining distribution in 2000, Brett Sokul of Miami New Times
Miami New Times
The Miami New Times is a free weekly newspaper published in Miami and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami area and is headquartered near Miami's Design District.-Overview:...
wrote "Despite the reams of praise, conventional industry wisdom saw Trans as "difficult," i.e., not a reliable arthouse ticket-seller. It's an attitude that dramatizes the increasingly commercial pressures on the world of independent film, once a respite from the dictates of the box office but now often just as enslaved to it."
Trans was distributed by Cowboy Booking International.
DVD releases
Trans was first released on DVD by Fox Lorber on November 20th 2001. The DVD features the film, a trailer, the soundtrack, and web links. Trans was released again on DVD by Wellspring Media on December 26th, 2006.Original Score & Soundtrack
The score contains music by Fat Mama and her Trans World Orchestra, Jonathan Goldberger, and includes.- "Peace" performed by Lonnie Liston SmithLonnie Liston SmithLonnie Liston Smith, Jr. is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with important free jazz artists such as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of albums widely regarded as classics in the fusion / Quiet Storm /...
and The Cosmic Echoes - "Peace" performed by Horace SilverHorace SilverHorace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
Quintet - "Theme" performed by Cibo MattoCibo MattoCibo Matto are a New York City-based band formed by two Japanese women, Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori, in 1994...
- "In a Blink" performed by The Mondal Family
- "Baby D" performed by The Mondal Family
- "Lions on the Loose" performed by The Mondal Family
- "Pimp Slap" performed by Fat Mama
- "Gifeltiluv" performed by Fat Mama
- "D.U.O" performed by Eulipion Journey Agents
Reception
Trans received mostly positive reviews from critics. Wesley Morris of San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
wrote "Trans itches to be hyper-stylized but settles for occasional flights into coolness". Philadelphia City Paper
Philadelphia City Paper
Philadelphia City Paper is a free alternative news weekly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was established in November 1981 as a spin-off of the now defunct WXPN Express newsletter. New issues are released every Thursday....
wrote "Goldberger’s exceptionally weird debut invokes Jarmusch, Southern Gothic and THX 1138-style sci-fi". Gavin Smith from Film Comment
Film Comment
Film Comment is an arts and culture magazine published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, of which it is the official publication. Film Comment features critical reviews and in-depth analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world...
magazine writes: "Julian Goldberger's idiosyncratic Trans, which follows the nocturnal wanderings and random encounters of a juvenile detention center escapee amid the strip malls and neighborhoods of Ft. Myers, Florida, may have had a budget a fraction of anything in competition, but it showed ten times the inspiration and cinematic integrity." Lawrence Van Gelder from the New York Times wrote "Trans remains a sensitive evocation of youthful turmoil". In a favorable review from the Village Voice, critic Amy Taubin writes: "What's most remarkable about Trans is how faithful it is to Ryan's consciousness and to the way it shifts between fantasy and a mesmerized response to details of the outside world."
The film also caught the attention of producer, Ted Hope
Ted Hope
Ted Hope is an American independent film producer based in New York City.As the American Indie wave hit in the early 90’s, Ted was among the first producers to emerge from the pack, and today remains one of the few consistently delivering vital and exciting new work...
, who offered to produce Goldberger's next feature, The Hawk is Dying
The Hawk is Dying
The Hawk Is Dying is a 2006 film based on the book by Harry Crews. It was accepted to the 2006 Director's Fortnight Competition at the Cannes Film Festival...
.
Awards & nominations
- 1999, Reader's Jury Prize for Best Film - Berlin International Film FestivalBerlin International Film FestivalThe Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
. - 2000, Someone to Watch Award at Independent Spirit AwardsIndependent Spirit AwardsThe Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
.