ORLANDO

* * * ½

STARRING: Tilda Swinton, Billy Zane, Lothaire Bluteau, John Wood, Charlotte Valandrey, Heathcote Williams, Quentin Crisp, Peter Eyre

1993, 93 Minutes, Directed by: Sally Potter

orlando.jpg (22228 bytes) Description: Commanded never to age by Queen Elizabeth (Quentin Crisp), the title character becomes immortal; we then follow Orlando through 400 years of dreamlike British history. Midway through the film, Orlando changes genders. Based on, but scarcely resembling, the Virginia Woolf modernist classic of the same name. — Amazon.com

Orlando is a lavish fantastical tale that follows the adventures of a young androgynous Elizabethan male who is not only immortal, but also changes into a female halfway through the movie . . .

Come again? It’s a difficult film to describe or even analyse, and that is exactly the pleasure behind the movie. It’s the sort of thing that’ll want you to talk to somebody about the movie right after you’ve seen it. Based on the novel of the same name by Virginia Woolf, it scores a few points on the satiric level especially regarding the roles of males and females and the similarities between 20th century and Elizabethan society and . . .

Well, listen. Don’t be afraid of Virginia Woolf. Go see this movie. If you’re looking for some quirky and unpredictable fare then go see this movie - you’ll love it. I certainly did. But if you’re of the opinion that Independence Day was the greatest movie ever made then give it a miss . . .