Orpheus by Jean Cocteau was definitely a film where the dialogue was second to the visuals. The special effects that Cocteau used in the film were very simple, yet effective in how the story was being told. One theme of the film that was conveyed through special effect was to look forward, not backwards. You see it when Orpheus look at the rear-view mirror and Eurydice disappears; when Orpheus travels to and from the Underworld. We see this theme throughout the film.
Another theme that was shown throughout the film was death. Death, in the form of a woman, is obsessed with Orpheus, and vice versa. Now, I could believe that Orpheus was obsessed and in love with death. Orpheus, while considered a National Hero for his poetry, was searching for meaning in his life. His poetry was not well like anymore; he was in a conventional marriage. Orpheus was going through an existential crisis, where he questions his life and its meaning or purpose. However, when Orpheus encounters death, it becomes this obsession. Death falls in love with Orpheus and becomes obsessed herself. When I think of Death as a person, I think of of a male with the coldest personality and incapable of having the slightest hint of emotion. With Death in Orpheus, we see that's not the case. When Death is confront about her "love" for Orpheus, her clothes turn white; when she reverses time to save both Orpheus and Eurydice. That is not how Death is usually portrayed. Death, in a sense, is repressed and starts to lose control of her situation through obsession. Death could also be seen as a deus ex-machina, because her reversal of time, and "saving" Orpheus' marriage, something Eros would've done.
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I think that film brings up an interesting commentary on poetry and poets. It makes the lot of them seem tortured and whiny. It's almost the equivalent to the "emo" stereotype of today. Which I realize now is probably rather legitimate due to Orphee's obssesion with death. It may be a stretch but think about the crisis that Orpheus is having and the way he proclaims his love for death. This almost directly relates to the attitude that people under the stereotype of "emo" behave what with the whiny nature/obssession with things such as death.
ReplyDeleteIs Orphee the posterchild for the "emo" kids of post WW II?
When I think of death , i think of the Grim Reaper. When i think of death in human form, I also think of a man who is very cold and shows no emotion. Almost a sort of hitman or something. So when Cocteau made death a woman, it messed with my preconceived notions about what death would look like.
ReplyDeleteI still wonder what that means overall for hte film and it's narrative on Post WWII society.
First, nice title:) I spent way too much time figuring out what it was all about ...Im slow...
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed the effects even though they were simple. I felt like they were more relevant than alot of the special effects we have seen in other films thus far. The whole time going backwards, yea that is definitely a huge part of Cocteau's message.
For some reason Death as a woman wasnt really hard for me to see. I mean obviously it makes sense to usually imagine him/her/it (?) as a cold, cloaked male figure, but it sorta seems like it really stood out to people and I hardly even noticed till it was brought up here.
I especially liked the special effects also. I thought it was refreshing to see almost a "natural" looking special effect, not sure if that makes sense or not...they weren't too flashy they were brilliant in theme and use and especially made the story appear to be realistic in the sense that the world that was created for us on screen flowed nicely with the effects that were chosen for this film.
ReplyDeleteI honestly am not surprised to see death played by a woman. I am not sure if I had an idea of exactly what I believed death looked like in my head prior to this but somehow I guess a woman makes perfect sense. She's a sly, tricky, woman. I think she represents a jealous, angry, cold woman that wants what she can't have. She obsesses with it to the point where she plots to make it hers. The man blinded by love and struck by her beauty falls for it.
>>Death could also be seen as a deus ex-machina, because her reversal of time, and "saving" Orpheus' marriage, something Eros would've done.
ReplyDeleteI think you're really onto something here. Death _is_ Eros in this movie, in all the complex range of associations that each provies. Also, I think your point about mirror images is really well-taken. But I think 'look forward, not backwards' oversimplifies. The whole power of Eros/Death in this movie has everything to do with what happens when somebody looks backwards. Even the Eros/Death fusion is sort of backwards, given that they're ostensibly opposing impulses.
I love the idea of Emo Orpheus, though I think probably it's the younger generation in this movie, exemplified by Cegeste and his friends, who are more emo. They're the ones who get into fistfights over poetry, while Orpheus just sneers into his aperitif.