Review of Orpheus (2013) by Christopher S — 29 Dec 2010

Jean Cocteau explored the famous Greek myth of Orpheus three times in his career: Blood Of a Poet (Le Sang d'Un Poete) (1930), Orpheus (Orphà (C)e) (1950), and The Testament Of Orpheus (Le Testament d'Orphà (C)e) (1960). In his second part of his trilogy, Jean Marais (Cocteau's on again-off again lover) stars in the title role. Cocteau updates the story by putting it in contemporary Paris, a Paris that has never been seen before or since. The story follows a successful poet whom - despite popular acclaim - feels uninspired. At the Poet's Cafe In Paris, a young and respectable poet named Cegeste (Edouard Dermit) is struck and killed in a traffic accident. Cegeste's patroness, The Princess (Maria Casares), asks Orpheus to come with her as a witness. They arrive at her villa where Cegeste's body is taken upstairs and revived; they then pass into the Underworld by way of the mirror in the room. Orpheus later wakes up on the ground outside and demands that the Princess' chauffeur Heurtebise (Franois Perier) take him back to his house. Meanwhile, Orpheus' wife Eurydice (Marie Dea) is worried about him not returning home and when he does return he makes very little effort to pay attention to her as he has become obsessed with the cryptic messages that are coming out of the radio in the Princess' Rolls Royce, as he believes they can serve as inspiration for writing. With Orpheus too busy with the radio, Eurydice enters into an affair with Heurtebise. The Princess is also obsessed and in love with Orpheus visiting him in the nights while he is asleep. Later on, as Orpheus is still obsessively listening to the messages coming through the radio, Eurydice seeks advice on her mixed-up love life and is struck down by the same two motorcycle riders that killed Cegeste. It seems that the Princess has claimed Eurydice so that she could have Orpheus all to herself. Heurtebise persuades Orpheus to accompany him into the Underworld. By now, however Orpheus cares little for his wife as he is now under the Princess' spell. In the underworld, they are brought before a group of judges that announce they are liberated from the Underworld and the Princess agrees to never have anything to do with Orpheus and restore Eurydice back to life, on the condition that Orpheus never lay eyes on her again. But after a day or so of not laying eyes on her he slips up and Eurydice is sent back. Just then a crowd of people begin throwing stones and such to hurt Orpheus and he is eventually shot and killed by one of them. But all hope is not lost as back in the Underworld, the Princess, Heurtebise, and Cegeste go back reversing time to where he never met the Princess and both Orpheus and Eurydice live on happily.

Like his earlier endeavor into the myth of Orpheus, Jean Cocteau once again uses many themes such as death to suggest the struggle of being an artist and coming up with something new and groundbreaking. And like his the earlier Blood Of a Poet, as well as his version of The Beauty and the Beast, he succeeds at coming up with new ways filmmaking that are beautiful. He continues his fascination with mirrors as portals between life and the hereafter. He again uses many of the techniques he has become known for such as playing the footage backwards (the revival of Cegeste & Eurydice and the Princess' gloves coming back for example) and slow motion which give the film a beautiful dreamlike quality to it. Nicolas Hayer's noirish black and white cinematography makes the imagery all the more beautiful. Jean Marais, while more of a screen icon, does fine in the lead role but everyone in the supporting roles are quite good, especially Francois Perier in what might be the most important role of the story as the Princess' chauffeur. It's a film that is witty and makes the classic story of Orpheus all the more magical despite being in a contemporary setting where Orpheus can sit inside of a Rolls Royce, listening to the car radio. It's a work of genius. 10/10.