Perfect cast and a good story

Captivating movie !

Best movie of this year hands down!

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

This movie, I honestly think, Is a poem, written to celebrate Youth,this lovely, serious thing, And gives us ground, on this to contemplate.Showing us all its joys, and horrors, The boredom, the valor, the love and courage, The enjoyment of poetry, wine and social honors, Without the grasp of the then so common marriage.And the Muse, miss Tilda Swinton, The leading role she so marvelously plays, Transforming her androgynous beauty, a heavenly vision, Only surpassed by the work of the cinematographer, charming our gaze.In short, I have only three words to describe this film, Lyric, powerful, grasping. All of them worth expressing.

Movies about transgender people don't number that many (at least in mainstream cinema), and even less so the further back you go, so ORLANDO is somewhat unique by virtue of its very existence. Based on a Virginia Woolf novel (which I haven't yet read, but definitely want to), it tells the story of Orlando, an English nobleman blessed/cursed with immortality and who changes sex from male to female. Without going into spoiler territory (e.g., when and why Orlando changes), the film is largely concerned with social roles and expectations of men and women, unfairness in how women have been treated, etc. I thought it was rather interesting to for Orlando to be possessive of a woman he fancies early in the film, only to be on the receiving end of a similar proposal later on as a woman. And then there was my favorite scene where Orlando sits in on a discussion between several famous writers/poets (including Alexander Pope). All of the feminist discussion and thematic content alone makes this worth a watch, but there are a few minor quibbles to be had. The chief one is due to the main character's immortality. You get several sections in different time periods that show Orlando's progress, but it gives the film an episodic feel at times. I also wasn't terribly satisfied with the way it ended, although I'd be at a loss to posit an alternate ending without extending the running time further (and I thought it was a good length already). Suffice it to say, this is one of the best performances I've ever seen out of Tilda Swinton, although she was less convincing as a man than a woman (for obvious reasons). Still, her character isn't the only fun the film has with gender fluidity, as Queen Elizabeth is played by Quentin Crisp and there are a couple castrati who provide some diegetic music. Aside from the performances, the production design, sets, costumes, and score were all equally good. For more open-minded viewers, I can wholeheartedly recommend this. It will definitely affect the way you think about gender/gender roles.

It. The humanity. In the first case I did not like his outlook and in the second, I did not like her name. Otherwise brilliant play.Playful, interesting, my first of this kind and with very good sound-track. Very good historical retrospective told in its cultural context also. Kingdom with a queen, society of men, poetry, science, adventures, future, windy job, time for conscious choice.High level of abstractness that gets down to the contemporary viewer through different big talks. With the purpose to show him what he looked like, what he is now and to be asked what he wants to be for now on. Historical load showed to us as being left aside the road. Not forgotten. One of the possible ones but came real.More social concepts in the rubric "it happened like this". Again, interesting, moving. Lovely surprise and amusement.http://vihrenmitevmovies.blogspot.com/

As someone who knows nothing at all about Virginia Woolf and her writing career, I found this film rather vacuous. Sure the costumes and sets were great, I do love much of those eras clothing styles, but that hardly makes a great film. Hollywood has this thing with books and IMHO if you need to know the book prior to seeing the movie then the movie is at fault either the screenwriter or director failed to make a film that can stand on its own. Maybe it was an impossible task I don't know since I haven't read the book.Too much seems to depend upon knowing the author and her relationship with her friend but without that foreknowledge it loses any irony or bite.Tilde Swinson simply cannot make a convincing male and for 2/3 of the movie that simply got in the way.