Ophelia Learns To Swim

Hilarious film by the author of "The Woman Director"
Cult film writer/director/producer Jurgen Vsych, after 28 short films, makes her feature debut with "Ophelia Learns to Swim." You can read about the making of this film in Vsych's recently published memoir, "The Woman Director," the first autobiography ever written by an American female filmmaker.

"Ophelia" takes the "Hamlet" story and turns it on its head. Julia Lee plays Ophelia, a young woman who was a brilliant student but has let her I.Q. plummet 60 points so her boyfriend won't be intimidated. Her existance seems to be on course to mimic her namesake in HAMLET, but her life takes a strange twist when a witch shows up on her doorstep and whisks her away.

Ophelia is introduced to the witch's friends: Superheroines Mother Nature, The Chocolatier, and The Librarian, who are battling their villanous counterparts Virginia Svelte (the hysterical Hilary Shepard-Turner), Cosmetic Chick, and The Doucher. Ophelia must decide which side to join - the underpaid,...

Ophelia Learns to be Human
I really enjoyed the film. I hope they will be playing it on the Independent Movie Channel more often.

I think with the right marketing, it would be really big with women's rights groups and with people who enjoy good wacky comedy.

Particularly clever was the subtle way in which the author/director/writer raised issues of equality and the human rights, often sticky subjects people don't like to be preached to about during their entertainments. Also, the overtly symbolic use of names and characters added to the zany, surreal under-girth of the narrative. The acting was authentic and honest, if a bit over the top in some moments (to be expected in this kind of fantasy/comedy of the absurd).

Ophelia herself combines the charm of an innocent with the sex appeal of a female at the dawn of womanhood. It is easy to empathize with her plight: a dotting but vacant and eventually spineless boyfriend, a pushy, mean-spirited, selfish, alcoholic father, a brother...

Cute idea, nice sense of humor, but falls flat
Ophelia learns to swim is many things, it's a feminist comedy (not necessary a contradiction in terms), a superhero parody and a coming of age story. It's also an ultra low budget film with some talented performers.

Ophelia is an ordinary girl taken for granted by her family and her boyfriend. Then she's kidnapped by the Broom Witch and the Council of Superheroines. She takes on their antifeminist foes including the smoking villainess Virginia Svelte.

There's a lot of sincerity in the film, the Superheroines are always making speeches about women's oppression and social issues. There's also a bit of parody, the film is not afraid to make fun of its issues but the jokes fall flat, the low budget is apparent and really it's not very entertaining.

There's potential. Julia Lee and Lauren Birkell in particular put in good performances, but in the end there's really no reason to seek this movie out.

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