Orphée (1950) – Dir. Jean Cocteau
- Johnathan Mack
- Mar 4, 2021
- 3 min read
The tale of Orpheus and Eurydice shows just how far a person can go for love and just how crushing it can be when hopes are dashed at the last moment. Jean Cocteau’s Orphée is a bold adaptation of the timeless myth which relishes in delving into the supernatural implications of a tale which transcends the world of the living and the dead.
Much of the narrative sticks to the myth that we know and love – Orpheus (Jean Marais) follows Eurydice (Marie Déa) to the underworld in an attempt to reclaim her, the wish is granted on condition that he does not look at her, this condition is broken and Eurydice is lost to him, then Orpheus is killed by a group of enraged assailants. So far, so familiar.
But Cocteau adds a lot more to his mind-bending rendition of the myth and his inclination to focus on the strange deathly context of the narrative is extremely intriguing. Here, the incarnation of death, who is named only as The Princess (María Casares), serves as a love interest for Orpheus as much as Eurydice does. Also, our eponymous hero and his dead, then alive, then dead again, then alive again partner, Eurydice, receive a much happier ending than being torn apart by Bacchic cultists.
The film is rooted around Orpheus’ struggle throughout as he strives to become a poet worthy of immortal fame. Lofty and admirable ambitions indeed, but this doesn’t save him from being a bit of an unlikeable character. He is entirely self-absorbed and dismissive of Eurydice in the first part of the narrative. So much so, in fact, that when the mysterious Heurtebise (François Périer) informs Orpheus that his wife is dying he says that she’s just doing it for attention.
Ouch.
Orpheus is almost redeemed by his dismissiveness of his wife when he pledges to go to the underworld and reclaim her, but when he arrives, he admits that his real motivation for travelling into the afterlife was to confess his love for The Princess. At one point, when his friend asks him to choose whether he loves Eurydice or The Princess, Orpheus says he wants them both if he can. I understand that Orpheus is famed poet, but the film makes it very difficult to understand why either of his love interests are so interested in him at all.
Where the film thrives is in its visual artistry. The unnamed hellscape acts as wonderfully bleak and eerie foil to the bright, lively streets which we see as the world of the living. The simple visual effects are employed incredibly effectively and reinforce this divide between worlds. The reversed footage when Orpheus dons the magical gloves which allow him to cross into the underworld is very subtle but conveys that something isn’t quite right. Its unsettling because we know something is wrong with what we’re seeing, but its not blindly obvious at time, and it sets the viewer on edge. The film maintains its sombre tone even when it engages with the more fantastical elements of its narrative, everything feels believable.
Orphée, despite its questionable protagonist, is a brilliant reimagining of the myth. While some of the characters are faded in favour of Orpheus it is still an irresistible watch and the sense of impending doom which it generates is amazing as it hurtles towards the climax. The suspense is enthralling because we’ve heard the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice before, we know that this delicate balance of love and lust, right and wrong, life and death, is going to come crashing down – The joy of watching the film is in the fact that we’re not quite sure when it will happen.
Orphée is currently available on BFI Player: https://player.bfi.org.uk/
The Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice features in a couple of ancient texts.
- Virgil's Georgics translated by P. Fallon is available at: https://www.waterstones.com/book/georgics/virgil/peter-fallon/9780199538836
- Ovid's Metamorphoses translated by D. Raeburn is available at: https://www.waterstones.com/book/metamorphoses/ovid/david-raeburn/9780140447897
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