Courtesy of Preston Miller
If you’ve ever craved a silent-film-style opening with God (played by Buñuel collaborator Jean-Claude Carrière in his final film appearance–how the hell did they swing that?) teaching a very nude Adam and Eve how to masturbate in the woods, man, is this the film for you.
Director Preston Miller’s (God’s Land) newest is an art house take on sexual pleasures, their religious roots and the absurdity of our search for such experiences via the subconscious. As a series of interconnected vignettes ranging from a couple at a fertility clinic, talking pigeons questioning human processes and nudist tennis players chatting about the Old Testament, it isn’t a film to hold much of anything back—l’Odge d’Oor is, actually, one of the strangest films you’ll ever see.
Oh, but you won’t find much comfort if you’re craving a traditional narrative. Part of the fun is in how Miller’s work holds a midnight film vibe at which a good chunk of the audience will enjoy the affair all the more should they watch while stoned. And hey, that’s a virtue. Even if the film’s last sections seem to work toward losing viewers, it does manage to pull out of the nosedive in its final moments in a display of thematic unity often lacking from films of a similar ilk.
As a comedy, l’Odge d’Oor’s hardest-hitting humor emerges from its performers’ delivery. Pity, then, that Miller expends so much more energy on quirky effects. Making his actors more of a focal point or even just trusting them a bit more deeply would have come across well and improved on some otherwise very funny choices. C’est la vie, though, and the comedic direction ain’t half bad. Still, as a whole, this is one -movie that could have benefited from trimming and polishing, even if Miller displays more strength in his ideas than in their technicalities.
This makes l’Odge d’Oor a mite rough around the edges. No moment seems afraid of commitment to the bit, though, and while Miller’s film doesn’t meet all the marks, one can’t deny it keeps on surprising. And anyway, seeing Carrière as a giant floating God-head in the sky may be worth it after all.
6
+Good pacing, interesting themes
-Little too heavy on effects
l’Odge d’Oor, or All Things With Eyes Must Sleep
Directed by Miller
With Carrière
Jean Coctaeu Cinema (Sat, Feb 12, 7 pm) and SFFF Online, NR, 95 mins
