It's a shame that Director Cocteau's works are relatively unknown in this country. Few of his films are available and I would LOVE to see more of his films. I have only a few of his films (including Beauty and the Beast, Blood of a Poet and a couple others) but was absolutely stunned by the cinematography and artistry. It's as if his films are less movies than Surrealistic works of art--meant to confuse and delight.

To describe the plot would be difficult other than to say it is a faithful modern retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and his trip to the Netherworld to retrieve his beloved. Just watch it and see for yourself.

PS--Since first writing this review, I have seen several more Cocteau films and am always in search of more. Unfortunately, Cocteau didn't direct or write that many. BLOOD OF A POET was pretty strange and was more like a short Avant Garde film you'd see in an Art House than a commercially viable film, whereas the other films I saw were like Orphée in that they had some odd imagery but still maintained a traditional style of storytelling.

It's too bad that Cocteau's filmography is so short. In this film as well as Beauty and the Beast, there is so much visual delight that it makes one ask for more. Now granted this is a strange period historically, the post-war fifties with the beatnik milieu. It seems a bit dated now, especially the bad boy motorcycle guys, and that satanic council, but it still creates a world of great interest. The whole thing about poetry trumping everything is really interesting. The man sitting in the old Rolls, listening to the strange events on the radio as his accident-victim wife is breathing her last, this obsessiveness of the artist at all costs, plays pretty well. There are a couple of weaknesses. The woman representing death is rather dull, her presence is black but not the kind of black that launches fear. Also, apparently there is a hierarchy of these beings and she is but one. Marais is handsome and unpredictable in some ways, but not very likable at all; he is user. The kids from the restaurant are interesting. It's hard to imagine so much blood lust. They feel he is responsible for the death of their friend and has become a sellout to his constituents. There are some loose ends as well, but, overall, it's a striking piece of film-making.

Orphee is a poet who becomes obsessed with Death (the Princess). They fall in love. Orphee's wife, Eurydice, is killed by the Princess' henchmen and Orphee goes after her into the Underworld. Although they have become dangerously entangled, the Princess sends Orphee back out of the Underworld, to carry on his life with Eurydice.

Roger Ebert wrote, "Seeing 'Orpheus' today is like glimpsing a cinematic realm that has passed completely from the scene. Films are rarely made for purely artistic reasons, experiments are discouraged, and stars as big as Marais are not cast in eccentric remakes of Greek myths. The story in Cocteau's hands becomes unexpectedly complex; we see that it is not simply about love, death and jealousy, but also about how art can seduce the artist away from ordinary human concerns".

There is definitely a good way and a bad way to update mythology. Thebad way, well, we will not go there. But the good way is shown here and in films like "O Brother Where Art Thou". For much of this one, it could be any story if it was not made obvious by the character names. A French poet does not immediately scream "Orpheus".

The myth-fantasy gets stronger as the film goes on, and this actually works. It could be silly to have fantastic elements show up part way through, but it actually just boosts the film from average to better than average.