Métamorphoses

Liberally taking stories from Ovid's epic poem that bears its name, Metamorphoses is a rich and variegated sequence of interconnecting stories, telling of Gods and men, the women they seduce, and their impact in the heavens and on earth.

And it's a pretty fine spectacle. We see Europa (Amira Akili) stolen from the human world by Jupiter (Sébastien Hirel) while Bacchus (Damien Chapelle) cavorts with women and men and animals. There's the unknowable purposes of the Gods at play, we see, juxtaposed against the very real human traits of desire and lust.

It is a fairly explicit film. I feel like a good proportion of screen time has one character or another (and often many) naked or in some state of undress, and there are numerous rather lascivious close ups of genitalia in particular. It all adds to the salacious tone of the film, of course, and further promulgates the films intentions.

As a result, there is indeed something thrillingly exciting and a little titillating about the film even as one is searching for its artistic merit. It's not pornographic by any means, but it does seek to illustrate desire in a way that speaks to the audience kinetically.

In this way, it's actually rather successful, even if it does stand to be a little perplexing. I think if I were to see this film in complete isolation, I'd likely be more harsh on it, but at a film festival, it was a fine piece of programming, and a good entry in a rich selection of films.

Metamorphosis has a lot of nice earthy action in nature. Greenery is the same to any era, as is sex and human interaction between people young enough to deserve their carnal behavior. The stories of Ovid lend a legitimacy. But Honore adds a very homey French familiarity with the human body and it's activities missing from modern synthetic US cinema. I don't know if the film is really that good or I liked it so much because it has been too many years since my last roll in the hay.

Christophe Honoré is one of those typical French author cineasts: it doesn't get any artier than this. Nothing wrong with some pretentious French cinema of course. Métamorphoses has some very strong and unique moments, especially because of the transgressive way Honoré explores Ovid's mythological universe and transports it to a contemporary context. On the other hand, the transgressive style and content are harmless and even quite loyal to Ovid's poem. Seen in that way, this film isn't transgressive at all and has more of an artsy, experimental pretence. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, but it all is quite superficial for a movie that attempts to be something much more. The cinematography is extremely beautiful though, as well as the soundtrack and some of its symbolism. But when it comes to French l'art pour l'art cinema, I think Les rencontres d'après minuit succeeds way better in its intent. Maybe because, although the film also is very autoletic, it transcends itself by subverting some bourgeois notions. Something Métamorphoses didn't do at all. But then again, maybe it's just me and my limited way of experiencing films like this.

Best international movie i have watched in a very long time, based upon one of my favorites, metamorphosis by ovid

No review needed. If you watch this movie and you find it enjoyable, stop, leave what you are doing, and seek a psychiatrist with urgency! you are literally minutes away from a mental breakdown and your life and others are truly in danger.