By Jesse Hausknecht-Brown ’25
Managing Editor of Layout & Features Editor
As a trans guy, I feel like I have been waiting for this film my entire life.
Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s debut feature film, “Mutt,” dips into the life of Feña (Lio Mehiel), a recently out transgender man, for 24 hours. Notably, Feña’s story, set in New York City, centers on life after transitioning, rather than the process of coming out.
Within the first few minutes of the film, the nuances of Feña’s intersectional identity are highlighted when he argues — in a mix of English and Spanish — with his Chilean father (Alejandro Goic) about his gender identity, which is followed by a stranger making a fetishistic comment about his bilingualism. These early scenes establish Feña’s frustration with society, family and himself.
After this exchange with his father, who is visiting Feña the next day, he spots his cisgender ex-boyfriend John (Cole Doman) in a bar. This reconnection is terse and intimate at the same time, and after spending the night together, John abruptly exits, leaving Feña confused and upset. These feelings are only compounded by the sudden arrival of Feña’s younger half-sister, Zoe (MiMi Ryder). While going through his own emotional difficulties surrounding John and his father, Feña now must take care of Zoe for the day.
What stood out to me the most was the way that Feña was portrayed as a flawed and messy person who has, and does, screw up. Trans people are messy and human and make mistakes just like everyone else. This is the exact reason we need trans people writing and playing trans characters.
“I think the director being trans and being able to tell trans stories is incredibly important, especially when so many trans stories have been directed and told by cisgender people from a very cisgender lens,” Rowan Phelps ’25, who identifies as non-binary, said. “The director, Vuk Lungulov-Klotz has a really unique perspective and this story could not have been told with such authenticity by anyone else…. [Feña] felt very whole to me in the ways that he makes mistakes and the way that he navigates his relationships, sometimes successfully and sometimes not so successfully.”
“I think the director being trans and being able to tell trans stories is incredibly important, especially when so many trans stories have been directed and told by cisgender people from a very cisgender lens...Vuk Lungulov-Klotz has a really unique perspective and this story could not have been told with such authenticity by anyone else.”
The film was shot with a 4:3 aspect ratio, which is less common in modern filmmaking — although it has been coming back recently — and really elevated the cinematography. It was clear that the framing and color grading of every shot was purposeful and well thought out. The arrangement of characters and objects in front of the camera lens was beautiful and heightened the emotional drama of the film.
Phelps pointed to the soundtrack as one of the best stylistic elements of the film. “Immediately after leaving the theater, I listened to the soundtrack over again,” Phelps said.
All the scenes were played with the same severity, so the film could have used a pinch of humor and some lighter-hearted moments. Some moments came very close to humor but were ultimately played very seriously. A lot of young filmmakers fall into this trap, especially when creating a film about a subject so personal. I know I’ve done the same.
However, the script mostly struck me as being vulnerable and reflective of the queer trans experience. There were lines at the end of the film that hit me in the chest in a way that was painful and powerful. In a fight they have in the last act, John yells at Feña, “the reason everyone hates you isn’t cause you’re trans, it’s cause you’re an asshole.” A little bit later in the argument, Feña shoots back with, “you’re just afraid of loving a trans guy!”
These lines, as well as the rest of that conversation, reflected something that I have rarely ever seen on the big screen. While I also appreciated the final act’s emotional argument between Feña and his father, the heated moments with John showed what it is like to be a trans man who loves men. This is what has been missing from trans cinema: the moment was bittersweet, leaving me relieved, melancholic and hopeful all at once.
“I think what made Mutt really interesting to me was the way it delved into the in-betweens. The in-betweens of identity, relationships and family dynamics,” Phelps said. “I don’t see many films about transness post-transition and I think that those stories are just as valuable as stories of coming out. Especially at a time when anti-trans legislation is so common, stories of transgender people simply living and navigating the world around them need to be told.”