A Greek myth transposed to Brazil begets an international sensation. Marcel Camus’ 1959 film dances wide of the source story – it’s set in a sun-drenched Rio favela during sweaty, sensual Carnaval – but has the same tragic heft. (Among the Austin Film Society’s “Love Month” selections, this one’s gunning for doomiest.) It won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and its cultural legacy includes a lot of Americans’ first brush with bossa nova via the soundtrack on vinyl, with Luiz Bonfá, Agostinho dos Santos, Vinícius de Moraes, and Antônio Carlos Jobim all hitting their groove on the home hi-fi. – Kimberley Jones
