sean baker has an impeccable talent for finding beauty in the most unlikely of places (typically viewed as “trashy”) and bringing it to life onscreen, without glorifying or demeaning it. this film was gorgeous, touching, funny, and lively all at once, a fully rounded out vision of life, and all its ups and downs. obviously, the color really stands out in this, the grading is amazing in every single shot. the kids were absolutely lovely to watch, and it really feels like baker just set them loose and captured them in their pure innocence, honesty, and joy (aside from some of the heavier scenes, all acted wonderfully). the only major issue i have with this is the ending scene, which i really appreciate symbolically, but was executed a bit poorly and jarringly (though i do understand the illegal circumstances he was under while shooting it) but this was a really great watch overall