In the dictionary, the term “odyssey” has two meanings. The first definition is a physical journey that is full of twists and turns. The second definition involves an interior exploration of one’s faith or knowledge. These two definitions are combined in Tony Odyssey, making it a truly singular cinematic experience.
The story opens in a conventionally Odyssean way, with a horse wagon ride through barren cliffs. It is here that we are introduced to Ivy, played with maximum confidence and swagger by Iraci Estrela in her first feature film role. These opening images of her grand journey are juxtaposed by our introduction to the film’s protagonist, Tony, who is in the midst of unsuccessfully unclogging a very unkempt toilet.
Kelson Succi, who plays the titular Tony, also co-wrote the film with the director, Thales Banzai. Together, they write the first ten minutes of the film in a particularly grounded way. Ivy and Tony come together and rob the bar where Tony works. Not only do they steal money, but they also take a mysterious drug known as paste. Throughout this sequence, the film’s fantastic visual style announces itself loudly and proudly. From flurries of well-edited extreme close-ups to imaginative frames within frames, the cinematography breathes life into the film as a character all on its own.
Tony’s odyssey kicks into another gear once a drop of the paste drug goes into his eye. Aside from being a gnarly visual, the film starts to change completely. The acoustic score frenzies, the images on screen distort, and even the opening credits of the film that were previously shown are reversed and warped. When Tony reawakens, he and Ivy reunite through an unstable drainpipe portal that transports them into the film’s real odyssey.
From this point on, surrealism and absurdism are the pilots of this flight, and we are its unassuming passengers. Banzai takes full advantage of his directorial debut, throwing every possible film technique imaginable at the audience. While Ivy appears quite comfortable in this new reality, Tony is visibly shaken by it. Similarly, the sharp entrance into this new world takes time to get used to as an audience member as well. The introduction of narration in this sequence adds to the confusion rather than clarifying. It isn’t long, however, before Tony starts to embrace this newfound freedom and deck himself out in new clothes and jewelry. Soon, the veneers of freedom show cracks.
Tony Odyssey asks a variety of huge questions at an overwhelming rate. The screenplay is dense with universal conundrums like the commodification of religion, the commodification of art, the pros and cons of modern art, the business of drug use, how society manipulates different forms of reality escapism, how sexuality can be both liberating and delusional, whether freedom of choice truly exists or is artificial, and so much more. Multiple times, the film even asks the eternal question: What is the point of all this?
Although these questions are open-ended, the film always has an opinion on each one that gets raised.
For its entire 100-minute run time, Tony Odyssey is bold, brash, boisterous, and bombastic. The film never delves into being overly philosophical or contemplative, either; the energy is impressively nonstop. There is so much style and creativity packed into the film that it’s almost impossible to exemplify in one review.
Thales Banzai is undoubtedly a filmmaker to watch out for. There’s so much more that could be said, but Tony Odyssey is a film that demands to be experienced rather than lectured about. Once these images get injected into your eyeballs, then our odyssey can truly begin.
Review Courtesy of Gabe Lillianthal
Feature Image via IGN Movie Trailers | still from ‘Tony Odyssey’