“Come, come! I’m sick to death of this particular self. I want another.” Taking Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando: A Biography as his starting point, academic virtuoso turned filmmaker Paul B. Preciado fashioned the documentary Orlando, My Political Biography—a personal essay, historical analysis, and social manifesto. For almost a century, Woolf’s eponymous hero(ine) has inspired readers with their gender fluidity as well as their physical and spiritual metamorphoses across a three-hundred-year span. In making his film, Preciado invited a diverse group of more than twenty trans and nonbinary people to play the role of Orlando and to participate in this shared biography. Together, they perform interpretations of the novel, weaving into Woolf’s narrative their own stories of transition and identity formation. Not content to simply update a groundbreaking work, Preciado interrogates the relevance of Orlando in the ongoing struggle to secure dignity for trans people worldwide.

For in-depth thoughts on Orlando, My Political Biography, please see my colleague Andre Couture’s review from its original theatrical debut here.

Video Quality

Orlando, My Political Biography arrives on Blu-Ray courtesy of a sumptuous transfer from Janus Contemporaries. The film features an array of expertly captured footage that is very deliberate in its execution. This footage looks incredibly crisp and clear within the configured filming conditions. The documentary primarily presents a natural color grading and detailed textures within the clothing and production design. The movie is largely orchestrated to work within stable environments that allow for a more consistent viewing experience. The footage looks as technically excellent as you can reach in high definition. Janus handles the encoding with ease and allows the film plenty of room to breathe. There are no signs of compression artifacts or other digital nuisances. Janus Contemporaries has treated this with the utmost respect.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with a strong DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track in the original French that realizes this material without fail. The creative team does an admirable job of capturing the subjects and making sure all of their powerful words come through with pristine clarity. The movie is centered on these revealing speeches, and all of the moments come through clearly. The music sets a valuable tone for the film, and this element is resolved pleasantly here as it saturates the room. The other element of this journey is the layered sound design that makes the locations more three-dimensional. Ambient noises are given ideal placement within the soundscape. The audio track is a peerless representation of the film. Optional English subtitles are included for those who desire them.

Special Features

The Janus Contemporaries Blu-Ray of Orlando, My Political Biography includes a leaflet featuring the essay “Orlando, My Political Biography: Novel Interpretations” by Michael Joshua Rowin in which he provides some good insight into and analysis of the film and the filmmaker that helps highlight the deeper themes on display. The on-disc special features are as follows:

Meet The Filmmakers: A great 15-minute conversation with director Paul B. Preciado in which he discusses his first feature film, queer representation in cinema, how he wanted to improve certain depictions on screen, the influence of Godard, connecting the history of the trans community with the contemporary experiences, sending cinematic letters, and more.

Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

Orlando, My Political Biography is a special documentary that upends traditional narrative inclinations to weave together history, acclaimed text, and personal insights into something refreshing and powerful. Director Paul B. Preciado yields an impressive amount of control over this sprawling endeavor, creating something that will stand out in the nonfiction space for years to come. Janus Contemporaries has provided this film with a Blu-Ray that sports a great A/V presentation and an engaging additional featurette. If the subject piques your curiosity, be sure to check it out. Recommended

The Janus Contemporaries edition of Orlando, My Political Biography will be available to purchase on June 25, 2024, on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Janus Contemporaries and The Criterion Collection have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.