CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Gurlyndrobb
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Kayden
This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
jovana-13676
"Orlando" is a truly magnificent book, and this is a magnificent adaptation of a magnificent book. When I was at the Women's Studies, there was a whole course dedicated exclusively to Virginia Woolf. We had an 'expert' professor who told us that "Virginia Woolf went away from religion." I imagined Virginia in a boat, rowing forever into the sunset. It sounded exciting, but I wanted to know what happened next, or how do we see it in her work. I never got an answer. After reading "Orlando" myself, I dismissed the professor's notion as her own fabrication. To me, "Orlando" is a myth, a folktale, and folktales come from religion. It just happened that at the same time when I was reading "Orlando", I found Vladimir Propp's "Morphology of the Folk Tale" on my landlord's book shelf, went downstairs to buy some chips and mineral water and bought Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm (2005) DVD in the store. So, I had an epiphany. "Orlando" has a folktale pattern, where the hero transforms and adopts female attributes in order to survive the folktale - which is life. I thought it would be very complicated to show this on film, but they made it by simply sticking to Orlando's look. The costume plays the most important role in this film and every nuance is expressed through costume - early baroque is not the same as rococo. And the costume designers know it very well. They will add or remove the layers to adjust the costume, sticking to historical facts, but also exaggerating some details. The passing of time is thus almost unnoticeable. Tilda Swinton is perfectly cast as Orlando, not only because of her androgynous looks, but because she is so intelligent and has great instincts - she understands what this story is about and how it should be told. This book/film may be misused to push the transgender agenda, but it's about nature. The human nature through history. Or, how sexes were looked or frowned upon in different historical moments. And every one of us is both male and female. We need both sides. "Orlando" is not a sex change flick, but a deep analysis of our deepest self and collective unconscious, as well. I love it that it's done through fashion.
gavin6942
Young nobleman Orlando (Tilda Swinton) is commanded by Queen Elizabeth I to stay forever young. Miraculously, he does just that. The film follows him as he moves through several centuries of British history, experiencing a variety of lives and relationships along the way, and even changing sex.We start out with some interesting ice skating, a hobby I was not aware had existed in the 1600s (though Wikipedia informs me it most certainly did). And from there we see Orlando go through life learning of poetry, politics and more.I found this film difficult because of the casting. Now, had I seen it in 1992, the transformation from male to female might have been more pronounced. But seeing it in 2014, Swinton is now a much bigger name, and it was obvious from the first frame that the actor was female. Was this intentional? Maybe, but I think not.
Alex Radcliff
This movie is about an hour and a half of staring at Tilda Swinton as she stares back at you. Saying that Orlando turned into a woman because he couldn't handle killing another human being is retarded. Women kill people too. They have been doing it as long as men have.I love the book, love it, and I am usually quite open to loose adaptation, but this is one case where the director was in love with showing the different time periods and had skewed ideas about gender.I understand that the book is odd, that it isn't the most cinematic, but maybe that's why the director/writer should have let this project alone. Having Tilda Swinton stare at the camera every five minutes did not add to any themes or ideas, nor did it enhance the plot. It was just creepy and slow moving.Also, what was with the weird singing angel at the end? I mean, what could that have possibly meant? P.S. I wanted a Fly Loo scene.
Manal S.
Orlando! The human predicament incarnated in a poetic piece of art. The movie is far from being entertaining; however, I couldn't get rid of that urge to watch it twice and thrice because it simply challenged my mind. For me, it was like reading a beautifully rhymed poem in a strange language. I had to see it more than once to understand every word, every gesture, every look. An in the process, I discover something new. Despite the strong feminist undertones, the movie generally ponders on the human existence presented by the tiresias-like symbolic figure Orlando, the androgynous lord who lives for more than four centuries discovering the true nature of death, love, poetry, politics, society, and sex. Orlando is a must-see if you want to keep your mind buzzing for days. One important lesson I learned from this movie: Tilda Swinton is an acting goddess!
