A modern retelling of the tragic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Carlos Diegues' Brazilian import skirts its source material to such a degree that the film becomes little more than a templated ghetto love tragedy set in an exotic locale. In the myth, a musician who plays like a god goes to Hades to demand his dead lover back. In the film, Orfeu (Toni Garrido), Rio de Janeiro's most celebrated samba composer, who lives in a hillside shantytown, is lovestruck when a neighbor's beautiful country cousin named Euridice (Patrícia Franca) comes to stay. But the magic of the romance is so underplayed here that the audience is left out of the emotion all together, with the end result that this feels more like a Carnaval West Side Story than Orfeu's deeply metaphorical and superior predecessor, 1959's Black Orpheus. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD extras include a theatrical trailer and the music video "Sou Voce." Bottom line: an unimpressive extras package for a so-so film.] (R. Blackwelder)
Orfeu
New Yorker, 112 min., in Portuguese w/English subtitles, not rated, VHS: $69.95, DVD: $29.95, Dec. 11 December 17, 2001
Orfeu
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