THE ORNITHOLOGIST

The Portuguese filmmaker goes on a voyage of self-discovery where disturbing eroticism blends with religious mythology. Provocative, enigmatic and seriously unpredictable.

The boundary-pushing filmmaker (O Fantasma) sets his latest in the dense Portuguese forest, where an ornithologist whose kayak has capsized is saved from certain death by two Chinese women on a pilgrimage. Straying from his usual big-city stomping grounds, Rodrigues ventures into a lush natural setting ripe for troubling encounters. A feverish work where fantasies, organic violence and religious mysticism intertwine, The Ornithologist flirts with the apocalypse while seeking out the divine in every nook and cranny of unspoiled nature.
 
Best Director award, 2016 Locarno Film Festival