OrpheusEurydice2.0353

OrpheusEurydice2.0353_NolfiEaston

In Easton's article, Correspondences are enumerated — the male protagonist’s eloquence equals Orphic musical virtuosity, love story equals that of Orpheus and Eurydice, the female’s desire to dance recalls Eurydice’s via Marpessa Dawn (Black Orpheus), mirrors from Cocteau are equated to doorways in Nolfi, etc. A scene set in the Museum of Modern Art includes visuals of a gray whale skeleton, a “gargantuan symbols of death and art watch[ing] over them as they pass, marking their [katabasis]“ and signaling “the role of water in the mythology of the film and its connection to the aquatic geography of the ancient Greek Underworld.” (53) Underscoring such resemblances, Norris’ name even bears a phonetic resemblance to Orpheus, while Elise recalls the name Eurydice in its French pronunciation (Eury-DEESE).” (57)