Bizet’s Bohemian is a Mexican migrant in choreographer Benjamin Millepied’s first film

Adapted to the cinema in about twenty films, Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen from 1875, inspired by the short story by Prosper Mérimée, comes naturally to the mind of a choreographer passing behind the camera. This Carmennourished by the cinephilia of Benjamin Millepied and tinged with westerns, goes from imaginary Spain of the 19th century to contemporary Mexico, with the air of a colorful New Wave from the 70s. A certain charm emerges from it, to be discovered in the cinemas at from Wednesday, June 14.

Original score

A young Mexican migrant trying to cross the United States border, Carmen comes across an American patrol. Saved by the police officer Aidan who kills one of his colleagues by releasing her, they are pursued by the police on the road which leads to Los Angeles. They stop at Carmen’s aunt who runs the Sombra Poderosa, a timeless club dedicated to music and dance.

Rather than using Bizet’s music, Benjamin Millepied commissioned composer Nicholas Britell to write an original score from which he constructed the film. The libretto transposes the action into the context of the migration crisis between Mexico and the United States, but at a time and in a visual form reminiscent of the 70s. Shot in fact in Australia, whose desert recalls Mexico, THE Carmen by Benjamin Millepied does not lack personality.

lyrical western

Rossy de Palma, who punctuates the film with her appearances, is the inspired narrator. White-hot in the desert and in a whitewashed town, Carmen does not support any other colors than the red of passions and blood. The first part of the film follows a road movie where the long American sedans of the 70s replace the horses of westerns. Hats and weapons are also part of the decor, and the club serves as a saloon.

The headlong rush of Carmen and Aidan recalls that of Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina in Pierrot le fou by Jean-Luc Godard, but filmed by the Wim Wenders of Paris,Texas. Benjamin Millepied is more scenic once he arrives at the Sombra Poderosa, where he favors the setting and a very moving camera in the midst of songs and dancers. From an opera, the director finds the right filmic form at the crossroads of musical comedy and opera. The junction takes, as well in the dramaturgy as in the visual and musical art: beautiful spectacle.

The sheet

Gender : musical drama
Director: Benjamin Millepied
Actors: Melissa Barrera, Paul Mescal, Rossy de Palma, Nicole Da Silva, Benedict Hardie, Elsa Pataky
Country : France / Australia
Duration : 1h56
Exit : June 14 2023
Distributer : Pathe