‘Orfeo’ Review – Dreams Meet Cold Reality In A Lynchian Tale of Loss And Obsession

The power of love and the power of obsession can blur together. The result is untamed power. In Greek mythology, the classic tale of Orpheus tells of a man who ventures into the Underworld to bring back his love, Eurydice, after a snake bites her on their wedding day. The Italian 1969 graphic novel Poema a fumetti reimagines this timeless tale of love and loss.

Now, flash forward to the present day, or at least modern-day Orfeo, where a similar tale sits at the heart of this wild, unbounded imaginative ride. Shot in 16mm, this inspired take wrestles with timeless themes of love and loss while delivering a visually arresting masterpiece.

In the film, Orfeo (Lua Vergoni), a melancholic pianist, falls for a mysterious woman named Eura (Giulia Maenza). As if by fate, their paths cross at a club, and Orfeo is smitten. However, when she vanishes, he embarks on a personal quest to find her. When the natural world ends and the dream world begins, Orfeo descends through a small door, aided by a Green Man (Vinivio Marchioni). His journey takes him into the afterlife, not hell or heaven, but somewhere in between, setting him on a quest for love, mystery, and death.

At the core of Greek tragedy, as here, are the measures of loneliness in the pursuit of obsession. Loss of control lies at its heart, and it pulses; indeed, it rages, once those loved or desired slip away. Is Orfeo, like Orpheus, in love, or is he in love with the idea of love? Infatuation may cloak one’s feelings, masquerading as love.

Here, we have a lonely pianist, pining away in both life and song, a state as wondrous as it is dangerous. Fleeting connections and imaginary belonging cloud his sense as he strolls down life’s keyboard. Out of step, and out of tune. Passion becomes obsession—in life and in the pursuit of love.

Orfeo is far from a romantic swansong. This is no happily ever after. The film leans into the abyss, spotlighting the rigors and pitfalls of chasing ghosts. It examines the psychology of a broken, lovesick man. The result is a tailspin of dangerous desire and blinded mission. It is uncomfortable as much as it is sincere. Though the film is fantastical in its dreamlike quality and imaginative story space, its real tenor is basic humanity. The desire for acceptance. To be seen and heard. And to be loved.

The film draws on the mentioned graphic novel and offers a radical, dreamlike rendering of the afterlife. The visuals are incredible, and that is putting it mildly. Put aside the dramatic storytelling and the weaving in of a Greek tragedy, the filmmaking alone is pure fantasy.

Shooting in 16mm is enough to send this cinephile to his feet applauding. But beyond the lens choice and camera work lies a landscape of dreams. In almost Willy Wonka-esque creations, the film uses stop-motion animation alongside its many tricks, creating a visual feast. Through a kaleidoscope lens, we enter a world unlike our own, almost Lynchian.

Another image is disturbing, and the architectural rendering defies logic, but such is the nature of dreams. Here, we embark on a riverboat through the imagination, where each dip and pivot needs no explanation. We need only watch and experience a place that slips the surly bonds of Earth, and enter a world of fantasia.

Through the visual landscape, the story itself takes on a much heavier meaning. It contrasts the reality we so often live in with the one we fantasize about or create. This film is as much a tragedy of life and loneliness as it is an experience that enters its own netherworld, where reality ends, and illusions begin.

Orfeo opens at the Philosophical Research Society in LA on 11/15 and at the Roxy in NYC on 11/21.