On the occasion of Jill Mulleady’s first solo exhibition in the U.S. Fight-or-Flight at the Swiss Institute, the Quad presents this special screening of Jean Cocteau’s Orpheus. Selected by Mulleady and introduced by n+1 film critic A.S. Hamrah. 

Jean Cocteau’s gorgeous, dreamy update of the classic Greek myth follows celebrated French poet Orpheus (Jean Marais) on his quest for inspiration—across the border from the world of the living into the land of the dead. Overwhelmed with feelings for both a beguiling princess clad in black (Maria Casarès) and his loving wife Eurydice (Marie Déa), his passions gradually lead him toward tragedy. With impactful low-tech effects (who can forget that mirrored portal?) and melodramatic swells, Orpheus still towers as a masterpiece of cinematic poetry.