Jean Cocteau's last movie is a lovely parade of fascinating images, concepts and characters. Playing the The Poet, his alter ego, Cocteau reflects about his work as a filmmaker, visual artist and poet. In a self-reflexive move, he references his previous movie, Orpheus, and openly addresses the creation of cinema. We're given a window into which we can look at Cocteau's inspiration and creativity. The sets are clearly sets and the characters are described as no more than inventions by him. This is meta-cinema, before Dogville, Day for Night, Persona and Otto e Mezzo.
It's also a visual feast of fantasy. Cocteau had a surrealist streak and fills this movie with images that could belong in anyone's dreams: people dressed up as horses, which is not as silly as it sounds; cadaverous masks; a clever use of reverse motion to show time running backwards, which I presume is how the filmmaker shot the reconstruction of a flower he had just torn to pieces.
Almost fifty years old, The Testament of Orpheus still looks modern and remains challenging. There are things in this movie that contemporary cinema doesn't use anymore, which is a pity; for rather than being old-fashioned, this movie still has a lot of teach to young filmmakers.
It's also a visual feast of fantasy. Cocteau had a surrealist streak and fills this movie with images that could belong in anyone's dreams: people dressed up as horses, which is not as silly as it sounds; cadaverous masks; a clever use of reverse motion to show time running backwards, which I presume is how the filmmaker shot the reconstruction of a flower he had just torn to pieces.
Almost fifty years old, The Testament of Orpheus still looks modern and remains challenging. There are things in this movie that contemporary cinema doesn't use anymore, which is a pity; for rather than being old-fashioned, this movie still has a lot of teach to young filmmakers.