[Black Orpheus (Orfeu Négre) (1958) Directed by Marcel Camus. Bruno Mello, Marpessa Dawn, Lea Garcia]

It seems as though all of my favorite films especially favorite foreign films come from Brazil. If you ask my which movie I would like to see for the rest of my life, it is always a toss-up between Orfeu Négre (Black Orpheus) and Cidade de Deus (City of God). This past weekend I fell in love with Black Orpheus once again. Black Orpheus is the love story which placed Carnival, and Brazil for that matter in international spotlight. To some, because Black Orpheus was filmed and directed by Frenchman, it in some ways, is a French tourist’s view of Brazil. While certain parts lacks a Brazilian native’s discretion or understanding, Black Orpheus did for Rio’s favelas what West Side Story did for the slums of New York. Given all the cultural and ethnic idiosyncracies, this movie stands at the top…