''Black Orpheus'' ( Portuguese: ''Orfeu Negro'' ) is a 1959

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

tragedy film directed by French filmmaker Marcel Camus and starring

Marpessa Dawn Marpessa Dawn (January 3, 1934 – August 25, 2008), also known as Gypsy Marpessa Dawn Menor, was an American-born French actress, as well as a singer and dancer. She is best remembered for her role in the film ''Black Orpheus'' (1959). Biogra ...

and

Breno Mello Breno Higino de Mello (September 7, 1931 – July 11, 2008) was a Brazilian athlete and actor. He is primarily known for playing the title role in the 1959 film ''Orfeu Negro'' (''Black Orpheus''). Biography Mello was born in Porto Alegre, ...

. It is based on the play ''

Orfeu da Conceição ' (Orpheus of the Conception) is a stage play with music in three acts by Vinicius de Moraes and music by Antônio Carlos Jobim. It premiered in 1956 in Rio de Janeiro. The play became the basis for the films ''Orfeu Negro'' (''Black Orpheus'', 1 ...

'' by Vinicius de Moraes, which set the

Greek legend A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

of Orpheus and Eurydice in a contemporary '' favela'' in Rio de Janeiro during ''

Carnaval Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

''. The film was an international co-production among companies in Brazil, France and Italy. The film is particularly noted for its soundtrack by two Brazilian composers: Antônio Carlos Jobim, whose song " A felicidade" opens the film, and Luiz Bonfá, whose " Manhã de Carnaval" and "Samba de Orfeu" have become classics of

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

. The songs performed by Orfeu were dubbed by singer Agostinho dos Santos. Lengthy passages of filming took place in the

Morro da Babilônia The Morro da Babilônia (, ''Babylon Hill'') is a hill in the Leme neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, separating Copacabana beach from Botafogo. It is home to a ''favela'' known by the same name, as well as the favela Chapéu Mangueira. Morro da B ...

, a favela in the Leme neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. ''Black Orpheus'' won the Palme d'Or at the

1959 Cannes Film Festival The 12th Cannes Film Festival was held from 30 April to 15 May 1959. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Orfeu Negro'' by Marcel Camus. The festival opened with '' Les Quatre Cents Coups'', directed by François Truffaut and closed with ''The Diary of An ...

, the 1960 Academy Award for

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, the 1960

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

for Best Foreign Film and was nominated for the 1961 BAFTA Award for Best Film. While the 1959 adaptation has been celebrated internationally, it has been criticized by Brazilians and scholars for exoticizing Brazil for an international audience and reinforcing harmful

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

Plot

A marble Greek bas-relief explodes, revealing Afro-Brazilian men dancing the

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

to drums in a favela. Eurydice arrives in Rio de Janeiro and takes a

trolley Trolley may refer to: Vehicles and components * Tram, or trolley or streetcar, a rail vehicle that runs on tramway tracks * Trolleybus, or trolley, an electric bus drawing power from overhead wires using trolley poles ** Trolleytruck, a trolleyb ...

driven by Orfeu. New to the city, she rides to the end of the line, where Orfeu introduces her to the station guard, Hermes, who gives her directions to the home of her cousin Serafina. Although engaged to Mira, Orfeu is not very enthusiastic about their upcoming marriage. The couple goes to get a marriage license. When the clerk at the courthouse hears Orfeu's name, he jokingly asks if Mira is Eurydice, annoying her. Afterward, Mira insists on getting an engagement ring. Though Orfeu has just been paid, he would rather use his money to get his guitar out of the pawn shop for

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

. Mira finally offers to loan Orfeu the money to buy her ring. When Orfeu goes home, he is pleased to find Eurydice staying next door with Serafina. Eurydice has run away to Rio to hide from a strange man whom she believes wants to kill her. The man – Death dressed in a stylized skeleton costume – finds her, but Orfeu gallantly chases him away. Orfeu and Eurydice fall in love, yet are constantly on the run from both Mira and Death. When Serafina's sailor boyfriend Chico shows up, Orfeu offers to let Eurydice sleep in his home, while he takes the hammock outside. Eurydice invites him to her bed, and they make love. Orfeu, Mira, and Serafina are the principal members of a samba school, one of many parading during Carnival. Serafina decides to have Eurydice dress in her Queen of the Night costume so that she can spend more time with Chico. A veil conceals Eurydice's face; only Orfeu is told of the deception. During the parade, Orfeu dances with Eurydice rather than Mira. Eventually, Mira spots Serafina among the spectators and rips off Eurydice's veil. Eurydice is forced once again to run for her life, first from Mira and then from Death. Trapped in Orfeu's own trolley station, she hangs from a power line to get away from Death and is accidentally killed by Orfeu when he turns the power on and electrocutes her. Death tells Orfeu, "Now she's mine," before knocking him out. Distraught, Orfeu looks for Eurydice at the Office of Missing Persons, although Hermes has told him she is dead. The building is deserted at night, with only a janitor sweeping up. He tells Orfeu that the place holds only papers and that no people can be found there. Taking pity on Orfeu, the janitor takes him down a large darkened spiral staircase – a reference to the mythical Orpheus' descent into the underworld – to a Macumba ritual, a regional form of the Afro-Brazilian religion

Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman ...

. At the gate, they pass a guard dog named Cerberus. During the ritual, the janitor tells Orfeu to call to his beloved by singing. The spirit of Eurydice inhabits the body of an old woman and speaks to him. Orfeu wants to gaze upon her, but Eurydice begs him not to, lest he lose her forever. When he turns and looks anyway, he sees the old woman, and Eurydice's spirit departs, as in the Greek myth. Orfeu wanders in mourning. He retrieves Eurydice's body from the city morgue and carries her in his arms across town and up the hill toward his home, where his shack is burning. A vengeful Mira flings a stone that hits him in the head and knocks him over a cliff to his death, with Eurydice still in his arms. Two children, Benedito and Zeca – who have followed Orfeu throughout the film – believe Orfeu's tale that his guitar playing causes the sun to rise every morning. After Orfeu's death, Benedito insists that Zeca pick up the guitar and play so that the sun will rise. Zeca plays, and the sun comes up. A little girl appears, gives Zeca a single flower, and the three children dance.

Cast

as Orfeu *

as Eurydice * Marcel Camus as Ernesto * Fausto Guerzoni as Fausto *

Lourdes de Oliveira Lourdes de Oliveira (born 17 December 1938) is a Brazilian actress. She is known for her supporting role as Mira in the 1959 romantic tragedy ''Black Orpheus'' and her starring role in the 1960 adventure film '' Os Bandeirantes''. De Oliveira mar ...

as Mira * Léa Garcia as Serafina *

Adhemar da Silva Adhemar Ferreira da Silva (September 29, 1927 – January 12, 2001) was a Brazilian triple jumper. He won two Olympic gold medals and set four world records, the last being 16.56 metres in 1955 Pan American Games. In his early career he also ...

as Death * Alexandro Constantino as Hermes * Waldemar De Souza as Chico * Jorge Dos Santos as Benedito * Aurino Cassiano as Zeca Notes * Marpessa Dawn was not from Brazil, but was born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Dean, Loomis
"America's Dawn Comes Up in France"
'' Life'', March 14, 1960, p. 57. * Breno Mello was a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player with no acting experience at the time he was cast as Orfeu. Mello was walking on the street in Rio de Janeiro when director Marcel Camus stopped him and asked if he would like to be in a film. * Da Silva, the actor who played Death, was a triple jumper who won two Olympic gold medals, in 1952 and 1956. * The role of Zeca was played by Aurino Cassiano, a young musician from a large musical family. With brother Amaury on

cavaquinho The cavaquinho (pronounced in Portuguese) is a small Portuguese string instrument in the European guitar family, with four wires or gut strings. More broadly, ''cavaquinho'' is the name of a four-stringed subdivision of the lute family of instr ...

and Aurino on pandeiro, they performed in the streets, calling themselves "Dupla Chuvisco". In 1957, they were invited to perform in a film, '' Pega Ladrão'', and then Aurino appeared in another, ''

Vai que é Mole Vai or VAI has several possible meanings: * Vai people ** Vai language ** Vai syllabary ** Vai (Unicode block) * Vai (Crete) * Văi, a village in Lupșa Commune, Alba County, Romania Abbreviation * VAI, Video Artists International, a classical m ...

''. It was during the filming of ''Vai que é Mole'' that Marcel Camus saw Aurino performing on location, and invited him to test for ''Black Orpheus''.

Reception

''Black Orpheus'' won the Palme d'Or at the

, the 1960 Academy Award for

, and the 1960

for Best Foreign Film, and was nominated for the 1961 BAFTA Award for Best Film. In the last case, Brazil was credited together with France and Italy. In July 2021, the film was shown in the Cannes Classics section at the

2021 Cannes Film Festival The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American director Spike Lee was invited to be the head of the jury for the festival for a second time, after t ...

. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 87% from 71 reviews, and an average rating of 7.9/10, with the consensus: "Colorful, atmospheric, and infectious, ''Black Orpheus'' takes an ancient tale and makes it fresh anew, thanks in part to its bewitching bossa nova soundtrack." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". However, the film has been criticized, especially in Brazil. Vinicius de Moraes, author of the play ''

'' upon which the film was based, was outraged and left the theater in the middle of the screening. Critics of the adaptation by Marcel Camus argued that it reinforced various stereotypes about Brazilian culture and society and about Afro-Brazilians specifically, portraying the characters as "simple-minded, overtly sexual, and interested only in singing and dancing." Setting out to make itself more "appealing" to foreign audiences, the film resorts to a "cheap and problematic exoticism" of Brazil.

Influence

''Black Orpheus'' was cited by

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...

as one of his early musical influences, while Barack Obama notes in his memoir '' Dreams from My Father'' (1995) that it was his mother's favorite film. Obama, however, did not share his mother's preferences upon first watching the film during his first years at Columbia University: "I suddenly realized that the depiction of the childlike blacks I was now seeing on the screen, the reverse image of

Conrad Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington ...

's dark savages, was what my mother had carried with her to Hawaii all those years before, a reflection of the simple fantasies that had been forbidden to a white, middle-class girl from Kansas, the promise of another life: warm, sensual, exotic, different." The film's soundtrack also inspired Vince Guaraldi's 1962 album '' Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus''. As a child,

Bong Joon-ho Bong Joon-ho (, ; Hanja: 奉俊昊; born September 14, 1969) is a South Korean film director, producer and screenwriter. The recipient of four Academy Awards, his filmography is characterised by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black h ...

watched the film on Korean television and it made a big impact on him. Arcade Fire's fourth studio album ''

Reflektor ''Reflektor'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on October 28, 2013, through Sonovox Records internationally and Merge Records in the United States. A double album, it was recorded between 2011 and 2 ...

'' featured themes linked and inspired by the film.

References

External links

* * * *
Culture Vulture review of ''Black Orpheus''''Black Orpheus''
an essay by David Ehrenstein at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...

''Black Orpheus: Dancing in the Streets''
an essay by Michael Atkinson at the