Orfeu (1999)

Too much of everything

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Director Carlos Diegues knows how to capture atmosphere with his camera and effects and when that atmosphere is the splendid garish gaudiness of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro there is plenty to entertain the eye. 'Orfeu' as a story, supposedly a re-interpretation of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth updated to current times and set in the slums (favelas) of Rio, is just not there.The title character Orfeu (handsome and talented singer Toni Garrido) does sing and play his guitar, his playing ends the night and serenades the rising of the sun, but here he a quasi-Rap star, beloved by his townsfolk of the hillside favela, and by all the women who come into his view. Eurídice (Patrícia França) enters his life, as she comes to Rio after the death of her parents in the provinces, and the meeting results in instant love. There is violence from the police invasions of the slums, drug lords such as Lucinho (a disastrously misused Murilo Benício who happens to be one of Brazil's biggest stars), female envy from Orfeu's many ex-lovers (Isabel Fillardis, Maria Ceiça), and parental concern from Orfeu's parents Conceição (Zezé Motta) and Inácio (Milton Gonçalves). But the story, or at least a semblance of one, gets buried in all the extravagant production of police raids and the Carnival parades: it just ends without much point - except that there is a reprise of the musical theme from 'Black Orpheus' to carry you back down memory lane.Though the quality of acting is generally substandard by comparison to most great films out of Brazil, the style of acting is supposedly the accepted norm for the popular Brazilian novellas on television. And the sensual presence of Toni Garrido does raise the quality of the movie. But if the art of 'Black Orpheus' or Jean Cocteau's 'Orphee' is what you are expecting, this film will not satisfy. If you are looking for a colorful, splashy extravaganza about Rio during Carnival, here is your ticket! Grady Harp

As one who loved and and read and saw the old version, Orfeu Negro, and who has lived on the songs for 40 years or so, I can say that this is a really good film. It is superior to the old one in many ways but what it gains in sophistication, it loses in enchantment. Never the less, it is a major and almost successful effort at a peep into a reality one cannot even begin to imagine. It is also admirable for the respect with which every single one of the inhabitants of the hopeless world of the "Favelas" are depicted, down to the last of the "evil characters" or the shifty one whose crying scene closes the film.It is also a beautiful love story and the recognizable connection to the Greek original is also remarkable.

This movie captivated me from the very beginning. This sparkling, contemporary portrayal of Black Orpheus recaptures the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and again sets it in a favela in the hills above urban Rio de Janeiro. The lives, loves and losses of 3 generations of shanty town dwellers are vibrantly documented over the course of a Carnival holiday. Dreadlocked, handsome Orfeu, who has achieved local fame through the success of his shows at the Sambadrome faces the usual pressures of a celebrity who comes from poor beginnings. He chooses to remain living in the favela, he claims, to show the youth that there is more than one way to success, the other way being that of his 'almost brother', Lucinho, a psychotic gang leader who reigns over the 'hood with drugs and terror. When beautiful, otherworldly Eurydice arrives in the rough-hewn streets to visit a distant aunt she captures Orfeu's heart, much to the disdain of the local women, most of whom have some claim on him, whether real or imagined. The two find true love against a pulsating backdrop of Carnival performances, jealousy, police violence, interfering relatives, and flimsy homes held together by not much more than romantic and colorful scarves. The acting in Orfeu is raw and energetic and the passion that interweaves the mythical tale is ethereal by design, and enchanting by its very nature.

Rio de Janeiro in widescreen CinemaScope is quite a sight, that´s for sure, and the carnival parade with the famous escolas de samba (samba schools) do sound great in digital sound. But money (it cost some U$ 7 million, a record for Brazilian standards) and the technology it can buy does not make a good film, especially if it´s a tragic love story, like this one.Two awful leads (Tony Garrido and Patrícia França) play Orfeu and Euridice, who are supposed to be in love, but we just have to take their word for it. Their love, and the movie, takes place in a Rio favela (shanty town), located high up in the hills of the city. It´s a fascinating set (built entirely for the shooting) which stands-in for a fascinating Brazilian inner-world, packed, in real life, with its own special rules and laws which the movie prefers to ignore.As it is, Orfeu shows us a great set, rather than the interesting parallel society it seems to be examining. Walter Salles´ Central Station did a pretty good job at rendering its station with documentary-like accuracy. Orfeu renders its favela with soap opera-like consistency.It´s a pity, because some of the supporting characters almost come to life. Orfeu´s parents, Zezé Motta and Milton Gonçalves, display the respect and dignity their small favela roles demand. Isabel Fillardis also makes an impression, as one of Orfeu´s women who may have had a big break after making the Playboy centerfold. But these are characters who have little screen time, although Brazilian music superstar, Caetano Veloso, does get an overlong and rather embarassing cameo appearance. You can´t miss him. He´s the animatronic-like puppet, playing a guitar on somebody´s roof.Diegues, who made the excellent Bye Bye Brazil, in 1980, seems to be so infatuated with his toys (the movie is technically very good) that he loses it altogether, especially in a story set in the dog days of Brazilian carnival, but totally devoid of the unique atmosphere of the Brazilian carnival. A turkey.