From Portugal, this homoerotic experimental film starts promisingly, as hot bird-watcher Fernando (Paul Hamy) heads into the wilderness hoping to spot a rare black stork. When his kayak is swept into rapids, he is rescued by a pair of Chinese pilgrims who got lost while hiking the trail to Santiago de Compostela. Fernando barely manages to escape from these religious nutcases. As he tries to find his way out of the forest, he also encounters a pagan orgy and a lusty deaf-mute goatherd named Jesus (Xelo Cagaio) before things get even more bizarre.
Writer-director Joao Pedro Rodrigues seems to be taking a trip into the darker recesses of church-based mania, but the symbolism becomes almost as head-spinning as Darren Aronofsky’s Mother! The audience has to work out what all the odd references to St Anthony mean (he’s played by Rodrigues himself). Perhaps this will make more sense to local viewers, but for the rest of us it feels a little indulgent. And there’s also the fact that the characters don’t talk much, which makes this a fairly internalised odyssey, but at least they’re intriguing.
Hamy is charismatic and sexy in the central role, diving into the demanding physicality with gusto. Because he seems open to everything that happens to him, he’s a guy who’s easy to sympathise with even if we’re not quite sure what he’s going through. The only hint to Fernando’s life before all of this is a brief phone call to some one (a boyfriend?) who reminds him to take his medicine. And when he doesn’t, the film takes its swirlingly surreal turn.
This is definitely a film of two halves. In the opening section, we are drawn in to this likeable gay man’s woodland quest. But when the story begins to veer off the rails, it becomes frustrating to keep track of what’s happening. There’s plenty of sexuality on-screen, including some fairly explicit scenes. And the film looks amazing all the way through, with clever visual touches and an inventive use of sound, creating a strong sense of dread. But what happens feels increasingly random, capped off by the appearance of a group of topless female archers. Although by then we have stopped trying to work out what any of this means.
***
The Ornithologist is available on DVD/VOD via Matchbox Films. Matchboxfilms.co.uk
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