Don’t know what to watch? Are you overwhelmed by how many movies there are nowadays? Gordon Briggs’ Reel Talk is here for you. Every month, this column highlights three films from movie history that are worth your time.
Christopher Nolan’s new adaption of The Odyssey has been a hit with audiences, but it is also just the latest in a series of films based on Greek mythology. What is interesting is how stories that are thousands of years old have been updated and adapted through a modern lens. These modernizations of ancient stories not only change the original setting, they allow writers to make timeless themes relevant to contemporary life, and often give agency to marginalized characters. Here are three memorable adaptations of Greek myths that set the story in modern times.
“Orpheus”
I don’t give a crap if it’s a 70-year-old black and white French film, “Orpheus” is an outstanding movie. In an effective blend of Greek Mythology and surrealist filmmaking, director Jean Cocteau reimagines the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice through a bohemian contemporary Paris. Here, we follow Orpheus, a self-involved poet who, after the death of his wife, must journey to the land of the dead to bring back the woman he loves. Its dreamlike story of death-defying romance is interesting enough,(the parts where Orpheus tries desperately not to look at his wife even play like a comedy) but what left a mark is how the film skillfully blends the magic of Ancient Greece with the ordinary aspects of modern Paris. Here, cafés and poets share the same space as a talking car, bedroom mirrors act as corridors to other worlds, and Death isn’t some scythe––wielding boogeyman but an alluring female figure in a black evening gown. My favorite bit is the visualization of the Underworld, which uses old-fashioned optical effects to make it appear that the characters are floating through the ruins of an ancient city.★ ★ ★ ★
“Black Orpheus”
Let’s say you don’t like the sword and sandals we usually get about Greek Mythology. In that case, I highly recommend “Black Orpheus.” Right from its opening scenes, this movie comes at you with color, energy, and oomph. This time, we have a retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth that’s set during Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. That choice of setting allows this film to both give a new spin on the story and emphasize certain aspects of its source myth. Specifically, that Carnival setting turns the city into a sort of living stage, one where the tragedy’s focus on the power of music is re-imagined in the context of Brazilian samba and jazz. I particularly liked the film’s interpretation of the Underworld, it’s here that our Brazilian Orpheus is taken to a strange Macumba ritual, used to contact the dead through music. That’s what I enjoy about the movie; it’s a mélange. The film is Brazilian and French. It floats between the land of the living and the land of the dead, it’s an ancient myth that feels modern. The result is a story about death that feels completely alive. ★ ★ ★ ½
“O Brother Where Art Thou”
When I first saw it 20 years ago, my reaction was mixed––I was very anti-Clooney back then. However, over the years, “O Brother Where Art Thou” has grown on me as a wacky jailbreak comedy that provokes some interesting thoughts about faith. Here, we follow the story of three escaped fugitives as they undergo a strange journey through the backroads of Depression-era Mississippi. The film was marketed as a retelling of “The Odyssey,” in actuality, Greek mythology is one ingredient in a stew of clever references to “Sullivan’s Travels,” “The Wizard of Oz,” and various aspects of American folklore. What leaves a mark is the movie’s memorable use of music. Those songs like “Down to the River to Pray” and that foot-tapping quality to “Man of Constant Sorrow” not only help define the film’s time and place, they also reinforce Homeric themes of the story of Americans uprooted by the Depression desperately looking for salvation ★ ★ ★1/2
