This film is a truly brave cinematic effort at an age where interesting films are hardly made anymore.
I'm a film director myself and I can say that this movie surprised me in a profound way, it is an unbelievable achievement that I envied. 76 minutes without a single spoken word is a really hard choice for a filmmaker, if he wants to make his script watchable and profitable, to say the least. Leda herself, as a theme, is a really hard one.
Still, the movie manages to convey so many messages and hidden meanings at its bay. This is independent arthouse at its best.
The silence choice spares an homage to the silence of Leda herself and of her own story, which holds for us only speculations about her real life. Apart from the fact that we know she was the Queen of Sparta and that Zeus wanted to mate with her so badly.
The movie attempts bravely to give an explanation on what happened to the enigmatic Leda after the birth of the two eggs and before (the eggs were including: Helen of Troy, Clytemnestra, Castor and Pollux.) The Swan here holds a character of its own. As brutal as Zeus at times, but also soft when it comes to seduction. Maybe this is one of the first attempts ever made by any artist, or historian, to give a road on the myth. That alone gets an extra point for me.
Cinematography takes off on a courageous black and white universe and the choices made by the director are creating an amazing experience and an alternative reality for the myth, which as a Greek I can say that it completely respects the myth.
Here, we also have an absolutely stunning performance by Adeline Thery that cannot be overlooked in the role of Leda. She was completely living it. And to think that the filming lasted for so many years! She is truly a method actress. She completely immersed into the character's life.
I believe that Samuel Tressler IV did a great job in communicating his vision, he has a lot of future ahead. Difficult missions make the great directors.
If you are a normal guy watching "normal" movies maybe this movie is not for you, but if you are a real cinephile who wants to escape from the "normal" crap this is your movie.
Watch it with the first opportunity that you'll get and you'll never regret it. Watch it in the biggest screen that you can find and the experience becomes even better.
What are we but figures made of a mysterious stone that one day someone will manage to decipher?
