Le Testament d'Orphée, ou Ne Me Demandez Pas Pourquoi! (1960)
Genre: Drama / Fantasy
Duration: 83 minuten
Alternative titles: Le Testament d'Orphée / The Testament of Orpheus
Country:
France
Directed by: Jean Cocteau
Stars: Jean Cocteau, Jean Marais and Jean-Pierre Léaud
IMDb score:
7,1 (4.200)
Releasedate: 18 February 1960
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Le Testament d'Orphée, ou Ne Me Demandez Pas Pourquoi! plot
Autobiographical and last film by the surrealist Jean Cocteau. An 18th century poet, Cocteau himself, travels through time in search of divine wisdom. He meets a scientist who opens doors to new dimensions. However, the scientist's method only works by killing the poet. The poet ends up in a mysterious land inhabited by other poets, judges, police, motorcyclists, gypsies, Oedipus, a Sphinx and Minerva.
Actors and actresses
Le poète
Cégeste(non crédité)
Le professeur(non crédité)
Heurtebise(non crédité)
Minerve (non crédité)
Elle-même (non crédité)
Une amie d'Orphée(non crédité)
Le Curieux(non crédité)
Elle-même (non crédité)
Oedipe
Reviews & comments
The One Ring
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- 29974 messages
- 4109 votes
Just like with Blood of a Poet, I felt that some things were going over my head with this Cocteau. I only have a basic knowledge of Greek mythology, and yet that is precisely what is referenced so much in this film. In hindsight, it is also a shame that I didn't watch Orphee first, because this is (contrary to what the DVD cover led me to believe) really a film that builds upon it in a certain way. Perhaps I should give Testament of Orpheus another chance after I have seen Orphee myself.
Despite a gap in my knowledge, I found it a fascinating film. Perhaps I am wrong, but Cocteau seems to be primarily exploring his own role as an artist and, to some extent, his own self-interest. This is particularly interesting when something is done with it visually. As a filmmaker, Cocteau was clearly brilliant. Unfortunately, there are also some very long-winded parts. For instance, a dialogue scene in a sort of courtroom starts off great but is dragged out for too long. This, combined with a certain lack of clarity, means I haven't quite made up my mind yet about how brilliant this film is, but in a way, it leaves me wanting more. I will rent Orphee as soon as possible.
3*
Translated from Dutch · View original
DonLeone
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- 592 messages
- 7256 votes
I thought this was a whole lot of nonsense, things shown on film for the sake of art rather than the sake of the story...
Translated from Dutch · View original
blurp194
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- 6015 messages
- 4496 votes
BB #25
On ne vous demande pas de comprendre!
Perhaps the craziest film in my BlackBerry marathon – just over halfway through, but who knows what kind of craziness the rest of the list still has in store for me. Still, that is one of the best things; this way you come across films you would otherwise never watch, and because of that, you encounter all sorts of things you had never heard of. Jean Cocteau, for example; I had heard his name before – perhaps only from street names in France – but certainly never seen, read, or heard of any of his work.
As a journey of discovery, the film is undoubtedly more enjoyable if you are familiar with his work, but even without that, there is plenty to marvel at, plenty of beautiful quotes in the somewhat strange and alienating dialogue. And the visuals are beautiful, the location in the old quarry is brilliant—I want to go there!—and every time a new character is dragged into the mix, you have to search for 'who is that again?'. That, too, must have been more fun back then than it is now; the search occasionally distracts more than it adds anything. But that isn't a bad thing either, because there is also a very fine soundtrack.
So BB really seems to be participating, but watching for her is completely unnecessary. Is she that blonde in the checkered dress that you find via Google? I don't recognize her in it; I think she's the angel instead. But it doesn't really matter, and besides, we aren't expected to understand it.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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