I really enjoyed watching the film. I found the use of color very intriguing. The contrast of the characters bright red hair in comparison to the dull and dark colors of the Elizabethan era. The imagery in the film captured me, very artistic
The most intriguing part of the film for me was how Orlando used language. For example, the bold ways in which Orlando addresses the audience to make remarks, for example "Same person. No difference at all... just a different sex."
Even when Orlando addresses other characters, it is short, blunt, powerful and often emotional.
Example:
Orlando: I'm dead, sir.
Shelmerdine: Dead. That's serious. Can I help?
Orlando: Will you marry me?
Also, there was a theme about property and ownership that was presented several times. First, between Orlando's father and the Queen when they talk about the property. Next, between Orlando and Princess Sasha when he tries to convince Sasha to marry him. Lastly, between Archduke Harry and Orlando when Harry asks Orlando to marry him and move to England.
The theme of entitlement is not only present between romantic interests but also in the pure nature of Orlando's position. Why is he/she entitled to the property? Why is he/she entitled to the property as a man, but not as a woman?
I have not been able to process what it all means yet, I feel that reading the book might fill in some plot holes for me. Watching it a second time might also help me to engage more in the dialogue and help me catch what I surely missed.
Grace,
ReplyDeleteI also noticed how Orlando's bright colors (in his/her hair and clothing) contrasted with the dreary, bland colors of society. For instance, while presenting himself to the Queen and also ice skating with Sasha, Orlando's costume/clothing was much more ornate and detailed. This might have been because of his position, but I recall seeing him among his other nobleman (when they are all dancing in a line, criticizing Sasha), Orlando was the only one with several silver buttons on his coat. Little details like that served as a separation from his peers.
The novel is every bit as inscrutable and often confusing as the film! It's amazing it was ever made into a film at all; yet it is considered oen of Virginia Woolf's most important and artful novels.
ReplyDeleteThe notion of property (who has a right to it, who may inherit it) is a very important issue with regard to the history of gender equality. It has been speculated that one major causal factor in the North American witchcraft trials, for example, had to do with the fact that a widowed woman who remarried could leave her former husband's property to the children of a future marriage; so children of a first marriage (or their spouses), disgruntled at being left a lesser share of wealth, would level accusations of witchcraft against their own mothers or others-in-law. In England, property rights and inheritance via provable heirs were the basis of feudal culture and economy for hundreds of years.