Black Orpheus....

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We just finished watching Black Orpheus, I saw it many years ago with my parents, but this was my husband's first time seeing it. This 1959 classic won numerous awards (The Palm D'Or at Cannes and both an Academy Award and Golden Globe in 1960). The film is fondly remembered for introducing Bossa Nova music to the world as well as introducing us to one of the loveliest African American actresses to grace the silver screen: Marpessa Dawn. Born in Pennsylvania, she traveled to Europe as a teenager, eventually married the French Director Marcel Camus (controversial at the time, he was white) and went on to star in her husband's movie Black Orpheus. Ms. Dawn passed away in 2008, but she lives on in this wonderful film which captures the beauty of Rio De Janeiro during "Carnaval", the emergence of Bossa Nova music into the mainstream and Ms. Dawn in her absolute lovely celluloid prime. If you get the chance (and you can handle subtitles, the film is in Portuguese) watch Black Orpheus.

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