Theo and the Metamorphosis

Damien Odoul's challenging, genuinely weird French drama looks at the interior life of a man with Down’s syndrome.

The UK film distributor Sovereign Films are often splendidly adventurous in the works that they bring to us. I applauded when in 2021 they dared to release Cristi Puiu’s uniquely philosophical Malmkrog lasting well over three hours. Such gambles, however, can fail and Damien Odoul’s highly eccentric Theo and the Metamorphosis is for me an example of that. Nevertheless, the extraordinary nature of both these works could mean that somebody might hate Malmkrog but embrace this new piece. As I see it, it's too weird and vague to work, but it could just possibly become something of a cult movie for some.

On paper, Odoul’s concept seems to be centred on a relatively straightforward situation. Theo (Theo Kermel) lives with his father in France in a remote woodland area (the father is played by Pierre Meunier). In the course of the film the younger man refers to his battles with Down’s syndrome so the film could be read as a study of the difficulties being faced by a widower and his 27-year-old son directly due to that. However, the way in which the film is presented makes it unique, but not in a good way.

A silent opening sees Theo walking through the woods and descending into a network of caves before emerging again. It's a long prologue without words and, by chance, it brings to mind the underground exploration so much more tellingly handled in the recent release Il buco. But then the title comes up whereupon the voice of Theo takes over sharing his thoughts and ensuring that everything that we see is from his point of view. It may be safe to assume authenticity regarding dad keeping a close eye on him and then later, in connection with his work as a photographer, having to go away for a few days leaving his son alone. But everything else is a reflection of what is in Theo’s head and here imagination freely takes over in every way imaginable: it ranges from Theo dedicating himself to martial arts to his belief that he has magical powers over animals and will extend to scenes (or should one say dreams?) in which he kills his father, attains an almost sexual bond with a snake which wraps itself around him and meets somebody described as his double.

This set-up is explored in sections given chapter headings but hardly clearer in meaning for that. In particular, it is never evident to what extent the fact that Theo has Down’s syndrome dictates the nature of the tale. However, interesting ideas are present here. Early on there’s the way in which the father’s watch on his son causes resentment so that moments of closeness can mix with the son hating this domination. Another theme concerns the way in which Theo, who has recognised that he is not a peaceful person, eventually seeks to turn away from his old self including his desire to see himself as a samurai. Thereafter as a late developer he looks to find himself and at this point the film becomes increasingly sexualised. In his mind he encounters nude women (earlier nudity has been strictly male and then in an asexual context) and this seems to lead to a point at which, if one puts aside Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, Theo seems to be investigating 21st-century notions including the possibility of being a man and a woman at the same time.

But, if these ideas exist beneath the surface, it is all the more frustrating that what we are shown is so obscure. Furthermore, the last section becomes even more cryptic than what has preceded it. Almost anything can be brought in at any stage, be it Theo's idea of making a film that is visualised in ’Scope and split screen, an encounter with Bob Marley reincarnated as a dog or a late heavily emphasised shot of a woman who, introduced as being Theo’s other half, is shown when masturbating. Vocal gibberish heard on the soundtrack at intervals seems at one with the impression left by the movie itself given its attempt to tell an inside story despite its inability to make us ever feel that we are adequately on terms with its central character. Nevertheless, one has to acknowledge that, both on Odoul’s part and on that of his leading players, Theo and the Metamorphosis is never half-hearted.

Original title: Théo et les métamorphoses.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Cast: Theo Kermel, Pierre Meunier, Ayumi Roux, Elia Sulem, Louise Morin, Sonia Gondry, Vanda Tilseein, Ethan Dabo, Damien Odoul, Patrick de Valette.

Dir Damien Odoul, Pro Alexandre Perrier, Screenplay Damien Odoul, Ph Damien Odoul and Sylvain Rodriguez, Ed Anne Destival.

Kidam/Wild Bunch/Same Player/Bord Cadre Films/Freestudios-Sovereign Film Distribution.
96 mins. France/Switzerland. 2020. UK Rel: 24 June 2022. Cert. 18.