Matialth
Good concept, poorly executed.
Hadrina
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Anoushka Slater
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
sergelamarche
The film is definitely on the strange side. The english hero is much too nice, feeble and intellectual to be english. Long life span, camera talk, slow moving, the film advance through the ages. Tilda has quite the delightful qualities though.
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.
OutsideHollywoodLand
What would happen if we could live a series of past lives, strung together like pearls, with full cognition of them all? Orlando, written and directed by Sally Potter, explores this theme, but then also weaves another few strands along the way. The title character, played by Tilda Swinton, plays Orlando like a skittish school girl, who remains confused and emotionally isolated from herself, those dearest to her, and the world at large.While visually fascinating, Orlando bounds helter-skelter through 400 years of history and politics to make some fuzzy social commentary on gender, sexism, and love. The score is perhaps the most interesting element in a film that fails to connect with this viewer. It travels well through Orlando's four centuries, complimenting Swinton's movements with vibrations that haunt our senses. Like most art house period pieces, the sets are sumptuous creations, if a bit overblown with fabric and muted color.I kept asking myself was Swinton's restrained performance purposely done---or just purposeless? Well, with art house cinema, we'll be debating that for many centuries ourselves!
ifasmilecanhelp
Absolutely superb movie...just saw it right before writing this...remember having seen the clip on YT,and it gave me the feeling I should enjoy it :I definitively did ! As say others comments, mesmerizing, mysterious, delicate...and very profound even though quiet hidden at the beginning...It reveals this aspect, like all the movie, like a woman in love,slowly, enigmatically, words after words, with great sensitivity...And Tilda Swinton, wow ! what an actress !Plus she's beautiful ! I didn't see any movie with her before,but for sure gonna see some more...Not at all a usual Jimmy Somerville fan, I just love his part too ;and last song leaves you full of hope in our humanity.Music, cinematography, set design and costuming are absolutely exquisite and stunning.But unfortunately guess this exceptional movie is not for everyone's taste..In one sentence, Sally Potter made a movie that you won't forget !Her film eventually expresses what Orson Welles wrote with so much accuracy :"a film is never really good unless the camera is an eyes in the head of a poet"
