Orfeo

Orfeo (Luca Vergoni) is playing piano at the club he performs at when he sees Eura (Giulia Maenza) for the first time. The pair ignite a whirlwind romance that’s extinguished as quickly as it begins when she mysteriously disappears one day. Later, Orfeo sees an apparition of her enter the villa that he’s had nightmares about since he was a child. He decides to follow her, only to find himself in a fantastical world filled with strange visions and inhabitants. Inspired by Dino Buzzati’s Poema a Fumetti, a comic book that reimagines the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice in 1960s Milan, director Virgilio Villoresi’s Orfeo is a dreamlike odyssey that combines surreal imagery, animation and stunning cinematography to spellbinding effect.

Villoresi’s film is dripping with style from its opening frames. There are elements of giallo cinema in its playful editing and use of bold shadows. It’s an irresistible pulpy tone that pulls viewers deeper into this bizarre world even before Orfeo steps into the afterlife version of Wonderland. As compelling as Vergoni and Maenza’s performances are, their characters lack any defining traits that extend beyond being in love with the other. There’s consequently not much justification for audiences to become emotionally invested in Orfeo’s search. However, the imagination and artistry on display as soon as he steps through the villa door are so enchanting that viewers have no choice but to get swept up in the journey.

In addition to the spectacular cinematography, the filmmaker deploys an assortment of mesmerising visual effects. Whether it’s stop-motion skeletons or clever optical illusions and camera trickery, there’s a tangible quality to everything onscreen that makes this world feel as real as it is strange. Music is another integral part of this feature’s expressive language. Piano notes weave between the words spoken in poetic monologues and add another layer of texture to the dreamlike sensation. The melodies even have the power to bring memories to life.

With its intoxicating concoction of sights and sounds, Virgilio Villoresi’s Orfeo is an astounding work of experimental cinema.

Andrew Murray

Orfeo does not have a release date yet.

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