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Orlando

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Orlando, 1992, Sally Potter, A film which takes its title and shall we say its direction, from the novel by Virginia Woolf, but is in itself a completely separate and distinct work of art and must be seen as such. Potter has meticulously shaved Woolf’s prose to the bone. Her ruthless editing has accomplished a tight, lean script that is not without humour. Potter spins words into pictures; Her dreamlike, gender fluid working of this filmic adaptation is timeless, and I have no problem saying that I prefer the film to the book. We follow Orlando, on a sweeping journey through time. Orlando begins as a man who by virtue of his youth is favoured by the aged Queen Elizabeth I, played by Quentin Crisp. The old Queen gifts Orlando with title and property and finally commands him never to age. Thus begins, Orlando’s immortality as someone who lives through several centuries, eventually becoming a woman. As soon as this femininity comes to light Orlando loses all rights