From the very first shot, Fabio D’Orta’s feature debut will grab your attention. Depending on the context in which you look, you may not realize it has started because it looks like a car commercial: glossy, artistic, clearly the product of expensive equipment and really dedicated work. This is the kind of cinematography that takes a lot of time and dedication, but it is present throughout the film, with D’Orta utilizing his fine arts background and experience in high-end commercials to create a visual experience that is downright delightful.

The underlying concept is also quite strong. In a remote rural villa (a fine example of Italian neoclassical architecture), a group of strangers have gathered. They’re all men, they all look at least forty – relevant details perhaps, considering that the demographic group least attracts police attention when people go missing. They have gathered here to make money. The deal, as they understand it, is that they will rent out their bodies, allowing them to be possessed by non-human entities for an agreed number of days in exchange for cash.

“Will there be pain?” Christian (David White, voiced by Simone D’Andrea) asks the doctor checking him before the trial begins. “Nothing an aspirin can’t cure,” he is told – but what he sees later will make him unsure about that.

Every now and then we hear a sound like thunder, and the treetops sway against the pale sky. Then they come: enormous, absurd and yet awe-inspiring things, shining in black and white. They look part insect, part machine – you might think of Kratid – and defy the laws of nature, yet they are there. D’Orta gives them a majestic appearance. They are the natural masters of this place. Their power is emphasized by the ways in which they influence their environment, which are never described but merely observed in passing. Slight, periodic visual distortions seem to make the men dizzy. Objects move as if gravity shifts. At the apparent command of the creatures, one of the men is led into a side room. He doesn’t come out.

D’Orta observes the details of what follows in a calm, detached manner, as the men ponder what will happen to them, how much they can trust the smartly dressed, authoritative men behind the operation, and whether and how they might escape. Tension and paranoia build without the need for big emotions. It’s actually the peace, the waiting, that gets under your skin. Most of those present are more than willing to give in in the face of desperation. Meanwhile, Christian becomes increasingly frantic, afraid for both the others and himself. White is excellent, showing us this play of emotions and the toll it takes, even when nothing can actually be done.

As The Complex Forms screened at Fantaspoa 2024, Israel and Iran engaged in a military battle with nuclear weapons on the table, tensions simmered in the equally armed Kashmir region, and the world continued to warm. We all live under terrifying existential threats. Sometimes they distract us from other ways we are being exploited. D’Orta’s film is acutely aware of this, deliberately dazzling. When we eventually learn more, it may feel like a downhill climb from what came before, but in its own way it’s just as sinister.

It’s D’Orta’s confidence in his technique that really takes this film to the next level. It is delivered with such clarity and certainty that it is difficult not to suspend disbelief – which seems to be part of what the filmmaker is trying to say. This is an exercise in glamor in both a modern and archaic sense. It’s also the most visually stunning film you’re likely to see this year, and it shouldn’t be missed.

Reviewed: April 21, 2024