Here we have yet another film that revolves around Art. Regrettably, this is not Naked Lunch.
Testament of Orpheus might be the first film by Jean Cocteau I've seen. Throughout the film, the only thing I could think of was Jean Genet's film A song of love. These two have some things in common; a romantic, dreamy expression, only I must say I hold the second film to be far better than Testament of Orpheus. It is also clear that some of Fellini's films may have been inspired by this one (8 ½). The film's oscillation between grandiose commentary about art and a lofty story about mythical creatures did not convince me at all. The only thing I really learned from this film is that David Lynch has apparently put some of its scenes to use in his own productions. The symbolism in Lynch's films can be blamed for being overly cheap, but it is never as downright trite as the stuff Cocteau comes up with here. There is always some sort of openness and sense of mystery in how Lynch employs what may, by some, be considered as "symbolic". Cocteau's musings on art tend to be both banal and sentimental. I must say this is a very, very pretentious film - and a terrible one.
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