Alchemy delivers a sublime story of pain transformed into beauty, of the darkest despair turned into the light of fierce determination. Deeply moving and downright gorgeous, this is visual poetry at its best. Various actors play the protagonist at different ages in this deftly constructed collage, illuminating the trajectory of emotional suffering and growth. The use of a single song helps create a sense of continuity without flattening the story. The overall effect is of immense emotion distilled into a diamond shining with multi-hued radiance yet still hard- edged. There is both emptiness and hope from the very beginning, as white balloons scatter across a night sky. Later we feel both reverence and sorrow for the handsome gay youth who stretches his hand toward us as if seeking our help, while in the background his many lovers come and go. Each scene, like a single line of poetry, is stunning on its own. Yet the full effect of the completed work cannot be adequately summarized. This is a film you'll want to watch more than once.
