Marcel Camus Black Orpheus

The film I chose for this essay is Marcel Camus’ Black Orpheus. This film retells the tragic love story of Orpheus and Eurydice. The film takes the myth out of Greece and puts on top of a favela during Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice has been told many times but I will be using the version in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The narrative in the film takes some liberties with Ovid’s version of the story, but the major themes of love, fate, music and death remain in the film. I chose this film because I thought it was an interesting take on the myth. It’s really fun to watch because of the music, the dancing and it’s colorful. I also liked that the myth was in a modern-day setting because it made it accessible for everyone. By setting the story in the poor neighborhoods of Brazil the myth can be relatable across time, space, and class. The film narrative also transcends color because the whole cast in the movie is black folks in Brazil. The new scenery of the film is beautiful. The story in the film

BUt it also adds to the myth by giving it a less gruesome end. In the film Orfeu is killed by Mira after she throws a rock at him causing him to lose his footing and fall of the cliff with Eurydice in hand. In the myth Orpheus is heartbroken for a long time, he doesn’t find another wife, and in Ovid’s version he finds some kind of affection with young boys. Orpheus is hollow in the myth and after being spurned for too long a group a angry women savagely kill him.

I like the myth version of Orpheus death better. Although, there aren’t any gods in the film narrative there is a strong belief in the afterlife and spirituality. When Orfeu is killed he is reunited with Eurydice within a day. I don’t mean to say that his pain was less than Orpheus’ but I feel that Ovid’s version is a lot more tragic. Orpheus is not reunited with Eurydice for a long