Mar 31, 2019

Floralis (Johnny Clyde, 2019)

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼ out of 10☼

"Birds broke their beaks for you. Wept real stars for you..."

Somewhat reminiscent of Juraj Herz's masterful rendition of Beauty and the Beast (Panna a netvor, 1978), Floralis takes the viewer to a strange place, simultaneously unrecognizable and as familiar and comforting as home. Part eco-parable and part fairy tale-ish fantasy, it brims with kaleidoscopic visuals and dense atmosphere of profound mystery. The forest where the lyrical story is set or rather, where an androgynous protagonist (gracefully portrayed by Nina Viola) gets spirited away is rendered in all of 'the forgotten colors of dreams', with the ethereally evocative score and whispery voices serving as our guides into a sort of an inner sanctum. That darkly beautiful 'micro-universe' is protected by an enigmatic creature (the author himself, heavily disguised) who adds another layer of deep melancholy to the gloomily oneiric proceedings...

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