The Ornithologist
A bird-watching expedition becomes a journey of religious self-discovery in Portuguese filmmaker Joao Pedro Rodrigues’ allegorical “The Ornithologist,” which, if nothing else, will have the adventurous viewer considering a nature trip to Portugal.
A film not to be taken in the literal sense — as per the magical realism of Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s work — ornithologist Fernando (Paul Hamy) is captured by two Chinese religious zealots, frolics with a shepherd named Jesus, encounters topless huntresses on horseback and experiences both death and resurrection.
It is all, apparently, a homoerotic-tinged riff on the life of St. Anthony of Padua (11951231), the Portugese-born patron saint of lost things whose birth name was Fernando, so it might help if you’re Catholic.
Journeys into hearts of darkness in exotic locales have become time-honored storytelling — “The Ornithologist” conjured up flashbacks in my mind to James Gray’s “The Lost City of Z” from a couple of months back, even though the approach of those two films couldn’t be more different — and Rodrigues’ lush visuals of the vast forests and rivers of Portugal are inviting.
Rodrigues, a noted figure in international queer cinema for 20 years, is skilled and ambitious. But once you’re into the vibe of “The Ornithologist,” there isn’t much mystery in the events that unfold. The ruggedly handsome Hamy, a French actor, is appealing, but Fernando’s character doesn’t evolve or transform much, despite all the weird stuff happening to him (and one interpretation of the film could be that this is all a delirious delusion on a bipolar Fernando’s part — there is an early scene, before cell phone coverage cuts out, of Fernando assuring a friend that he has taken his medication).
“The Ornithologist” has its pleasures. Perhaps one day Rodrigues will turn his considerable talent and unique approach to a portrait of the reallife St. Anthony, in the way that Roberto Rossellini paid tribute to his hero in “The Flowers of St. Francis.” The message of forgiveness and universal love, which “The Ornithologist” eventually embraces, is sorely needed.