Reinventing one of the most popular operas in history in the cinema? Why not. Carlos Saura achieved this magnificently 40 years ago by imagining Bizet’s work danced in flamenco under the guitar chords of Paco de Lucia. Nothing of the original tunes remained, but the spirit, the fire, the passion contained in the story of the young heroine were preserved.
Benjamin Millepied, who is making his first feature film here as a filmmaker after having had a glorious career as a dancer and choreographer, has somewhat taken the same approach, but the result, let’s face it, is a little less happy. His view of Carmen has practically nothing to do with the opera that everyone knows, neither on the musical level nor on that of the narrative framework. Viewers who expect to see a classic transposition similar to that offered by Francesco Rosi in 1984 (with Julia Migenes and Placido Domingo) will be bitterly disappointed here.
On a brand new musical score, composed by Nicholas Brittell (already cited three times at the Oscars), Benjamin Millepied had the ambition – perhaps too great – to take a more contemporary look at a work created in the 19th century.e century. To do this, he transposes the plot to our time and places it on the border separating Mexico from the United States. The intention is clearly to evoke one of the great issues facing the world, while portraying a young independent woman, who exists other than in the eyes of men.
If we find a few scenes touched by grace (the dance in which Carmen’s mother engages – Marina Tamayo – is reminiscent of Carlos Saura’s film), we have to recognize the more disembodied nature of the story. Melissa Barrera (Carmen) has a great screen presence, but her character is entangled in a more or less believable, sentimentally unconvincing plot. We will praise the way in which the bond forging between Carmen and her mother’s best friend (Rossy de Palma) is shown during sequences where the two women are magnified, but the meeting with Aidan (Paul Mescal), a former soldier of the Navy, does not produce the desired effect. Because, as everyone knows, love is a rebellious bird that no one can tame.
Carmen is showing in the original Spanish and English version with French subtitles.
Drama
Carmen
Benjamin Millepied
With Melissa Barrera, Paul Mescal, Rossy de Palma
1:56
Indoors