Written and directed by Grazia Tricarico, co-written by Marco Morana and Giulio Rizzo, Mona (Jaqueline Fuchs) is a female bodybuilder obsessed by an ideal of perfection and beauty. The body is her inseparable container, her most faithful ally, her partner responding to laments. Together they find themselves on the threshold of their destiny. Featuring one of the final performances from the late Julian Sands, and also starring Lukas Loughran, Jacelyn Parry, Jun Ichikawa, Hanna Ullerstam, Nicolo Pasetti, Stefan Sauk, Tim Pritchett, Maximilian Dirr and Adam Misík.
When making an independent feature following a female bodybuilder, a natural choice is to cast a bodybuilder in the role, as to create that kind of aesthetic is an extensive, challenging feat. However, it’s unquestionably a risk, as while the sport does feature a performance element, not everyone is suited to acting. That said, while there is the occasional wooden moment as you’d expect, Jaqueline Fuchs gives a solid portrayal of Mona. Capturing her internal struggles and constantly walking that line between pushing for success and pushing yourself over the edge.
That psychological element is perhaps the strongest aspect that Body Odyssey has to offer. Exploring the themes of femininity, sexuality and the biological clock, but its tendency to lean towards the obscure and horror-themed additions, doesn’t give it the space to do those themes justice. You can see what Grazia Tricarico is going for, to capture a chaotic spiral, intensity and the feeling of forever being on a precipice. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work very well and undermines any real message or exploration that the film has to offer.
Any viewer who’s ever seen a David Cronenberg film will recognise his influence on the direction and palette. At times, it does feel reminiscent of Crimes of the Future, in the sense of discipline, pain and persistence. However, there are also stylistic choices that stand out in the wrong way, primarily its Shakespearean monologuing, attempting to build a haunting presence but it ends up feeling heavy handed. As well as the way that it moves coming across as clunky, the progression doesn’t feel entirely natural or smooth.
Body Odyssey had an interesting and original idea but feels as though it’s being pulled in different directions and unfortunately, they don’t gel with one another. There’s a mix of strong and weak stylistic choices which are similarly at odds. Jaqueline Fuchs’ performance attempts to bring through the larger themes at work throughout but they’re never fully realised. Its forays into the more shocking, erotic or surreal sadly don’t have as much to offer as intended.
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