Tiresia

Tiresia is a contemporary version of the Greek myth in which a hermaphrodite being is blinded by a goddess, but this is compensated by the gift of clairvoyance. The film is made up of two parts, accompanied by the imposing sounds of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. In the first part, Tiresia (Clara Choveaux), a stunning Brazilian transsexual, is kidnapped and locked up by a man called Terranova (Laurent Lucas), who is possessed by pretty macabre thoughts. He considers that in Tiresia – a beauty created by man -he has found the perfect rose, superior to the work of God. So he is not planning to share his ‘rose’ with anyone. Locked up and deprived of hormone therapy, Tiresia however starts to lose her female attributes. In a gruesome scene, Terranova blinds Tiresia and leaves his now male victim for dead in the woods. There he is found by the angelic Anna, who is determined to help him. Tiresia (now played by Thiago Telès) turns out to be clairvoyant. This most likely ungodly characteristic attracts the attention of the village priest. So this is not an everyday story. Bonello is a special film maker, who beautifully designed his theme (identity, sexuality, religion, myth). With grateful thanks to the actors, who bring to life the occasionally extremely difficult and secretive characters with control and conviction.