O Ornitólogo

The Ornithologist is one of the most bizarre films I've seen in a long time. The first half was still digestible, some of the shots could even be taken out and put into a natural history documentary, but about halfway through there was a breakthrough and from that moment on I gradually stopped to understand the meaning of the individual peripetias and scenes. I admit that as an atheist I am not familiar with the fate of the saints, so the line of Anthony of Padua passed me by in a wide arc, which may (or may not) have affected my subjective perception of the film. The Ornithologist is perhaps too religiously laced a film for my taste, and one that will be enjoyed primarily by thematically initiated viewers. Personally, I took the film as a highly metaphorical (and for me at times almost incomprehensible) journey of the protagonist through a relatively unspoiled landscape, during which he meets various characters who influence him in different ways on his journey of discovery. From an artistic and symbolic point of view, this is undoubtedly a rich film, but it missed me in its impact and narrative value. (24/03/2020)