Orphee
Greek Myth have and will always be the source of great and complex stories in cinema. Their tragedies and comedies have transcended time, giving us a powerful source of emotion and beauty. One of the best stories is Orpheus as he navigates the world presents us with the moral implications of sacrifice and lost love. He represents artists and their fleeting relationship with death, the power of entertainment and entwining with the underworld. It showcases the poetry of the underworld and how life is forever dancing with the verse of an inevitable demise.
French film Orphee by Jean Cocteau is perhaps the best adaptation of this myth. It revolves around famed artist and poet Orpheus who is married to the lovely Eurydice. When his friend Cegeste is killed, he finds that the Princess of Death has been governing him for a while. Orpheus watches as the spirit revives Cegeste, takes him to his home and pulls him into the depths of the underworld. While Orpheus goes over these events, his wife Eurydice is starts an affair with friend Heurtebise and is suddenly struck down by the same cyclist that killed Cegeste. And soon, Orpheus himself is plunged into the murky Underworld in order to save her.
Cocteau’s film is filled with this outstanding imagery and symbolism. Spoken briefly about before, but the high use of mirrors and seeping pictures enthuse the rhyme that is going on. Mirrors are used to reflect back at Orpheus, where his own artistic vanity and spiritual entwining with the underworld are pulled into focus. It showcases and illuminates a world full of pretention and anguish as the Princess of Death plays with fools who toil to close to her. The stunning analogies on screen pangs of delectable scenes and the artistic way flows; captivating the audience. Cocteau uses trick shots and timing to enhance the movement of the picturesque and enthralling film.
There is some strong acting here too. Jean Marais as our titular character encompasses all the problems about lust, love and artistry. Though his charms and looks may as a coifed and handsome man may initially portray him as a waif poet, as he delves into the other side and dances with spirits, he layers Orpheus with earnest yearning and pain. Levelled with undeniable enigmatic Maria Casares as Death and Marie Dea as Eurydice, the cast shower the film with strong and powerful performances.
Don’t get me wrong, Cocteau’s Orphee smatters of the banal artistic pretention that is heavy and thick with the mystical and symbolic. But although, Cocteau plays with the original myth, the relationship with the tale still enthuses with his vision. It’s the kind of film you pop under your hat to trot out in friendship circles to make you seem like a visionary master of cinema. Not to say it is bad, in fact, when watching it haunts you, drags you into the dark belly of its own underworld. It brims with innovative work and picks at ordinary conventions to become this elegiac piece of cinema, unforgettable and enchanting.