Orlando is a very beautifully crafted film. I loved how in its entirety there was a faded look to the quality of the film. I'm not sure if this is because it's an older film or because it was calculated on purpose. Regardless, it felt to me as if I was viewing the film through clouded eyes.
Also, I love Orlando's monologue with us, the viewers. It felt as if Orlando was presenting the world to us through his inner self and cluing us into to how he or she felt.
I admire that the director thought of Orlando's flaming red hair. This MUST have been done on purpose to further show how different and unique Orlando was to the characters around at that time. I thought it was interesting that when Orlando does have brightly colored hair, it is when Orlando is in the north surrounded by coldness and that when Orlando travels East to the Holy Land (?), Orlando's hair is in the style of Colonial times - a white wig. Though it is probably close to 100 degrees, Orlando rarely takes off the wig. It seems to symbolize a squashing of Orlando's sexuality.
I am not quite sure if I understood the film or the character in the way that it it meant to be understood. I feel as if Orlando was always a woman and never was a man. Even though in the beginning of the movie they describe him as a man, I had a lot of difficulty seeing him in that light. His love of poetry and regards for love are very womanly, motherly characteristics and thus for the rest of this post will I refer to Orlando as a woman. I am still a bit confused about the time travel bit? Was it meant to show that Orlando did not fit into different time periods because she was so unique? Or was it showing that gender really is a social construction and we need people like Orlando to help break it down?
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