LEDA (and the Swan)
"There is something nearly museum quality about this film. Highly Recommended”.
The ancient Greeks created the myth of Leda as a mother of nations. Raped by Zeus in the form of a swan on the night of her marriage to the Spartan king Tyndareus, she later birthed quadruplets. Her sons and daughters would become central figures in literature and mythology. Leda is a modern take on this myth. The style of dress and set-dressing suggest that it is the early or mid-1800s, but there is a surreal timelessness in the presence of electric light and running water among other elements. We watch as Leda stoically lives her life and becomes increasingly pregnant. Her past and her family are introduced mostly through memory. These dreamy memory sequences collide with Leda’s daily life as old trauma and new discomforts surface. Several dramatic twists and outstanding cinematography keep the viewer watching until the film’s final moments.
Leda is the best art film I have seen in a long time. Pensive and ghost-like, scenes fade into one another as the plot trods steadily onward. Like a modern silent film, Leda features no dialogue. We only hear Leda’s gasps, moans, and cries when she is in her deepest turmoil and pain. The sound design is minimal –but outstanding– and the soundtrack is ethereal.
There is something nearly museum quality about this film. For the first two thirds of the film, the composition is immaculate, and the story is clear despite the lack of speech. Cinematography nerds will have a heyday with this film experience. There are obvious horror elements in Leda which are used skillfully and intensely. Some sequences are downright psychedelic while others feel like excerpts from gothic novels. Director Samuel Tressler IV has successfully and ambitiously re-imagined the Greek Myth into a contemporary Folk Horror telling of the tale.
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Leda was shot in both 2D (avail on DVD) and 3D (avail on Bluray as a 2D/3D combo set). It would definitely be worth seeking out the 3D Bluray version if you have the capability to watch it.
Highly Recommended. - J. Zimmerman for The Sound View.