A poet becoming obsessed with the personification of Death in a retelling of Orpheus is the most French thing I've ever seen. Snark aside, I think Cocteau is a beautiful director--like Beauty and the Beast, this film is full of dazzling images that stick in my memory. The special effects, dreamy movement, use of mirrors--it all serves to create this hypnotic trance that serves the film perfectly. It's poetry in motion. Sometimes the poetry obscures narrative cohesion, but I can't be too mad about it. This movie is a mood, and I love it.

The original title of the film is Orphée.