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
''Black Orpheus'' ( Portuguese: ''Orfeu Negro'' ) is a 1959 romantic tragedy film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is based on the play ''Orfeu da Conceição'' by Vinicius de Mora ...
'').
Biography
Mello was born in
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...
, the capital of
Rio Grande do Sul, a state of Southern Brazil. In the beginning of his career, Breno Mello was a
soccer player. He played soccer for
Renner and
Fluminense
Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...
,
and also for
Santos FC
Santos Futebol Clube (), commonly known simply as Santos or Santos FC and nicknamed the ''Peixe'' (; "fish"), is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a '' bairro'' in the city of Santos. It is also the team with the most goals i ...
, where he met
Pelé.
Mello was walking in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, when director
Marcel Camus
Marcel may refer to:
People
* Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel
* Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder
* Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian ...
stopped him and asked if he would like to be in a film.
Camus cast Mello to star in the classic 1959 film ''
Orfeu Negro
''Black Orpheus'' (Portuguese: ''Orfeu Negro'' ) is a 1959 romantic tragedy film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is based on the play '' Orfeu da Conceição'' by Vinicius de Mora ...
'' (''Black Orpheus''), in which Mello played the role of Orfeu.
Camus was "fascinated" by his physical beauty, which was an essential aspect of the character of Orfeu envisioned by Camus.
The film reinterpreted the
Orpheus
Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with J ...
myth against the backdrop of the poverty of the Brazilian working class and Brazil's famous
Carnaval.
The film made extensive use of
bossa nova music, including now famous songs such as "
A Felicidade" and "
Manhã de Carnaval
"Manhã de Carnaval" ("Carnival Morning") is a song by Brazilian composer Luiz Bonfá and lyricist Antônio Maria.
"Manhã de Carnaval" appeared as a principal theme in the 1959 Portuguese-language film ''Orfeu Negro'' by French director Marcel ...
" (also known as "A Day in the Life of a Fool"), which were sung by the character of Orfeu. While Mello acted the part of Orfeu, his singing voice was dubbed by
Agostinho dos Santos
Agostinho dos Santos (April 25, 1932 – July 11, 1973) was a Brazilian singer and composer of bossa nova, MPB and rock and roll, active from the early 1950s until his premature death in the crash of Varig Flight 820 in 1973, at the age of 41.
...
.
''Orfeu'' was the most successful role of Mello's acting career.
Reviews of his performance, however, are mixed. Bosley Crowther, reviewing the film for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' in 1959, criticized his acting, stating: "He performs the role more as a dancer than as an actor trying to show a man in love."
On the other hand, Mello's performance has also been described as natural, reflecting real talent.
Hollis Alpert
Hollis Alpert (September 24, 1916 – November 18, 2007) was an American film critic and author. Alpert was best known as the cofounder of the National Society of Film Critics, which he started in his New York City apartment.
Early life
Hollis A ...
, writing for the ''
Saturday Review'', called the actors' performances "admirable."
Critics agreed that Mello looked the part: the otherwise negative review of Mello in ''The New York Times'' stated that he was "a handsome, virile Orpheus who glistens when covered with sweat."
The film won the
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
at the 1959
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
,
as well as the 1960
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for Best Foreign Language Film,
and the 1960
Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film.
Mello was not part of the group representing the film for these awards. However, more than 40 years later, Mello attended the Cannes festival at the expense of the Brazilian government, and with the invitation of the producers of the 2005 documentary ''In Search of Black Orpheus'' (''Em Busca do Orfeu negro / À la recherche d'Orfeu Negro'' (Brasil/França, 2005)), by Bernard Tournois and René Letzgus.
Mello appeared in several other films, including ''Rata de puerto'' (1963), ''Os Vencidos'' (1963), ''O Santo Módico'' (1964), ''O Negrinho do Pastoreio'' (1973) and ''Prisoner of Rio'' (1988).
However, Mello was unable to maintain regular employment as an actor. Shortly before his death, Mello gave his view of why his acting career had not been more successful, saying: "Brazilian cinema at that time didn't have financing. I couldn't support myself with movies, and so, I went back to soccer."
O cinema brasileiro não tinha financiamento na época. Não podia me sustentar com o cinema e, por isso, retornei ao futebol."ref name=Guyot /> In 2004, Mello returned to film, appearing in the documentary ''In Search of Black Orpheus'' (in which he portrayed himself) to talk about the impact that the movie ''Black Orpheus'' had on the world of Brazilian music, such as Bossa Nova and
samba. However, the filmmakers of this documentary had to search for Mello in order to secure his participation in the film.
Mello also lived in
Florianópolis,
Santa Catarina, where he met Amelina Santos Corrêa, also known as Mana. He had his youngest daughter, Letícia, with her. Mello died in his hometown of
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...
, Brazil, at the age of 76 years on July 11, 2008, from a heart attack.
[ AFP]
Mort de Breno Mello, vedette d'"Orfeu Negro"
. Retrieved January 1, 2010. His ''Black Orpheus'' co-star, American-born actress
Marpessa Dawn, died 42 days later of a heart attack, in
Paris, France
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
. She was 74.
Filmography
* ''Prisoner of Rio'' (1988), Silencio
* ''O Negrinho do Pastoreio'' (1973), Negro
* ''O Santo Módico'' (1964)
* ''San Rata de puerto'' (1963)
* ''Os Vencidos'' (1963)
* ''Orfeu Negro'' (''
Black Orpheus
''Black Orpheus'' ( Portuguese: ''Orfeu Negro'' ) is a 1959 romantic tragedy film made in Brazil by French director Marcel Camus and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is based on the play ''Orfeu da Conceição'' by Vinicius de Mora ...
'') (1959), Orpheus
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mello, Breno
1931 births
2008 deaths
People from Porto Alegre
Brazilian male actors
Brazilian footballers
Association footballers not categorized by position