Search - Tiresia on DVD

"The Illusion Is Not The Real Thing, The Copy Is Perfect"

Brian E. Erland | Brea, CA - USA | 01/19/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Note: French and Portuguese with English subtitles.

Synopsis: Teresia (Clara Choveaux) is an alluring transsexual from Brazil earning a living in France as a prostitute. She is picked up one night by a customer (Laurent Lucas) who takes her to a secluded location and makes her his prisoner. Fearful of what could happen if he is discovered he blinde Teresia and leaves her for dead secluded road Tiresia is rescued by a young girl named Anna (Celia Catalifo) who nursed him/her back to health. Upon healing Tiresia now possesses the gift of second sight and begins foretelling coming events to anyone who will listen.

Critique: I had high hopes for the '03 film `Tiresia'. While I'm not generally attracted to erotica, the fact that the storyline was based on a Greek myth that dealt with second sight immediately caught my attention. Unfortunately for my tastes this modern interpretation simply didn't life up to my expectations.

Positives:
- `Tiresia' is successful at creating a smoldering, brooding atmosphere and lots of existential angst that produces the feel and texture of a grander drama just beyond the veil of the mundane drama unfolding the screen.
- The soundtrack is highly original and perfectly enhances the perception of otherness.
- The production values are first rate throughout.
- There are also some very good, though subdued performances.

Negatives:
- The pace is exceedingly slow and the dialogue just isn't profound enough to keep the audience fully engaged.
- The storyline drifts into incoherency at times and the ending is unsatisfying.

Maybe it's just too nihilistic for me, but whether that's the reason or not it's definitely not something I'd care to watch again which is my bottom line in evaluating any film. However with that said I'm sure there's a body of film fans out there that would love this film."