Black Orpheus

Breno Mello) and pretty much instantly they hit it off. He serenades her with his carousing guitar music - despite the fact that he is already promised to "Mira" (Lourdes de Olivera). Guess what? "Mira" isn't too impressed with her boyfriend's philandering and when "Eurydice" goes off the grid amidst all the celebrations and colour that is mardi gras, "Orfeu" suspects everyone and must set off on a search that will test his mettle and his love - and put him in the path of death itself! I enjoyed the idea but somehow it just didn't quite work. Surely there must be local mythology that could have been better applied here? It reminded me a little of Preminger's "Carmen Jones" (1954) in that by simply relocating a classic story to a new and vibrant scenario, you lose quite a lot of what made the original story work in the first place - even if it is a timeless love story that ought, on paper, to be easily transferrable. There's no doubt, though, a cracking chemistry between Mello and Dawn and I did enjoy Olivera's performance too. There is some beautiful and captivating photography of Rio de Janeiro that does illustrate the vibrancy of the place, and it's a beautiful film to watch. The story? Well I'm not so sure it marries so well and there's just too much focus on the environment and not enough on developing the characters.