“Orlando, My Political Biography” is an essayistic film that talks about what has been achieved, but above all justifies what remains to be achieved.
By Eduardo de Assumption*
Paul B. Preciado’s debut feature is not an adaptation of “Orlando,” nor is it a biography of its director, a trans man. On the other hand, it uses the writer’s text as a basis to explain a little about her own life and transform it, this time, into something political.
The book is dissected with a scalpel and throughout the film, the viewer will hear verses from Woolf’s work in the mouths of many trans and non-binary people who pass in front of the camera saying that they will play Orlando, they will even recite parts of the work. But they will also tell part of their life, their transition, their trans experiences, as well as the thoughts outlined by the philosopher.
In “Orlando: My Political Biography”, the realities of all its protagonists appear. Of all those people who, calling themselves Orlando, tell what their trans and non-binary lives are like and show how with their actions, with their bodies, they challenge the established.
The influence of Jean-Luc Godard is evoked here and there, materializing political protest in a nouvelle vague atmosphere. The famous filmmaker died during production, which is mentioned by Jenny Bel’Air, a trans woman, now 70 years old, who was once an icon of 1980s nightlife culture.
Trans pioneering work by names such as Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera is portrayed, as well as a tireless demand for the social name of each of these Orlandos. Photographers Pierre and Gilles also appear as doctors for one of the Orlandos.
Like trans identity itself, the film is many things at once: a political manifesto, an individual and collective biography, and a reinterpretation of Virginia Woolf’s novel, which is almost a century old. The boundaries between fiction and documentary are as fluid as identities; the form is non-binary.
What Preciado dares to do with this arrangement of documentary transfer is an unconditionally political game of ambiguities of roles and scenarios, of voices, of texts that are read and spoken, and even sung and danced, in “Orlando, My Political Biography”.
A film whose nature seems derived from the characters whose lives it portrays: “Orlando, My Political Biography” flows between cinematic genres, between fiction and non-fiction, making a binary genre classification almost impossible. It is pure revolution and poetry!
*Eduardo de Assumpção is a journalist and responsible for the blog cinematografiaqueer.blogspot.com
Instagram: @cinematografiaqueer
Twitter: @eduardoirib
By Ezatamentchy
Source: Maxima
I am an experienced author and journalist with a passion for lifestyle journalism. I currently work for Buna Times, one of the leading news websites in the world. I specialize in writing stories about health, wellness, fashion, beauty, interior design, and more. My articles have been featured on major publications such as The Guardian and The Huffington Post.