SXSW Film

The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela

If the hardest thing to decipher about a movie is whether it's a documentary or a feature film, then they must be doing something right. Grainy and used-looking, the cinematography sings harmoniously the blues of the washed-out last specks of hope painted by the actual Raquela, playing her real-life role as a Filipino(a) "ladyboy," or transsexual, or chick with a dick (as she is so frankly described throughout), trying to turn her Cinderella story into a viable way out of her grubby, prostitute-laden hometown, Cebu City, even if it is through Internet porn. Her dreams are of Paris, her voice is a tangled mess of transition, and her tale is one for hope, inspiration ... but most importantly, reality. For real.