The cinematography of this film is beautiful. The symbolic use of light to indicate mood (and abrupt changes in it) is very well done. Also the colors are vibrant, beautiful affairs with vibrant, samba music to go with it.The part of the movie that fails is the acting. It is hard to follow simply because the characters' emotions are hard to read. I have watched many subtitled or silent films, take Chaplin's "The Kid" for example, that are easy to follow simply because of the good acting. In this film I had a hard time keeping up with the plot because I didn't have a clue what was going on without reading the subtitles. Even then I had a hard time following the motives on occasion. For example, the drug dealer Lucinho seems to have no motivation for his violence late in the film, yet his actions are a crucial plot point.The real shame about this being a foreign language film, at least for me, is that reading all the subtitles to keep up kept my eyes away from the beautifully composed shots. Any one of those stills could be taken as a photograph and be a work of art on their own. Sadly, they would probably be better artwork than the film itself.

I was 18 when I became enchanted by all things Brazilian and held a lifelong ambition visit that beautiful country. This admiration of all things brazillian was the result of a visit to a London cinema with an older cousin to see the masterpiece Black Orpheus.This was a truly magnificent film, based on the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, and set among the slum dwellers of Rio at carnival time. I did not see this film again until quite recently when I purchased the DVD. The film retains it's magical qualities after all these years and can be watched over and over again.While looking for Black Orpheus, I became aware of the modern version Orfeu which I also purchased on DVD. I must say that this film fails miserably on most counts. The characters are wooden, the acting average, and the music can not live with the score of the 1959 film. On top of this the symbolism does not work, and the whole film lacks poetry. I have asked many friends to watch both of these films and the result is unanimous praise for Black Orpheus and a Luke warm reception for Orfeu.I visited a favela last year and it is true that the modern version is much more true to life, but that misses the point. This is a comparison between a work of art, and a very average remake.

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.

Orfeu Negro for the 90's. Complete with laptops, cell phones and automatic weopons in the hillside ghetto of Rio de Jainero. Visually the movie is great. I especially enjoyed the lead actor playing Orfeo, and the actors playing his mother, father and the teen-ghetto artist Michael. Orfeo and Euridice never quite connect in a powerful way. So emotionally the movie didn't move me as strongly as it might have. I did enjoy watching the Carnival and the music in the film is very nice.