Carmen

I had high hopes for this feature. I'm a ballet and opera fan and am familiar with Benjamin Millepede. Unfortunately this was a sometimes excruciatingly slow movie to watch. There were some highly stylized scenes that were memorable..most of them were not. The scenes for the most part did not hang together to form a whole storyline. I would have liked to have known the 2 lead characters and their back story but that wasn't really presented. The film did not engage me...I found myself looking at my phone and wanting to know when the movie would end. I will say that I have walked out of a very few movies before they ended but I did stay for the ending of this film so that is something.

Predictable and quite basic storyline. Yet, the movie is beautifully done!

If you are into action movies, or dramas - you will find yourself scratching your head a little.. but take it as a new type of presentation.. After all, aren't you already tired of the same gangster, mob stories with racing cars and heavy shootings? (I am! All of the action movies are the same: no real plot line just chasings and gory images.. )

For me, Carmen was like a realistic play that we watch on stages: dialogues are mingled with dance and music to express feelings more than mere images, at times alternating the past and the present, the cause and the effect, the reality and the imaginary..

It's 'almost' an art movie because the image was not spectacular.. Instead, the soundtrack was. Among others, Paul Mescal (I had no idea who he was) sang a song amazingly, reminding me I wanted to learn how to play the guitar..

Yes once again the "history" misused .. well sort of. So no pun intended - we get Carmen - but maybe not as we imagine her. Maybe not even how she imagines herself - kidding again. Great cast - Melissa may have become too political for some (agree or disagree with her stance, I think she is on the right side of history), she is a really good actress and I hope she can continue showcasing her craft - on a bigger scale.

That said, I am not sure if this is based on a novel that deconstructs our image of Carmen ... but it is well told and you get more than a picture of someone doing everything for art ... (not the clown - sorry couldn't resist, if you didn't get that, don't worry: an inside horror movie joke) and she succeeds in a way too - well you be the judge of that of course.

Drama baby - and well edited and choreographed one as well ... good sound design too.

So the director who choreographed Black Swan, gives us a reimagining on Carmen. It's a musical, it's a dance spectacular.its drama filled study of the border issue in the USA. It's an arthouse study of all of the aforementioned. To summarise, someone has tried to get a quart into a pint pot and ended up with a hot mess. An interesting hot mess. But a hot mess nonetheless.

You can a movie about all of the above but not all at once.

That said, the movie is very well made. There is religious symbolism in the washing of feet, allusions to PTSD, slow motion action scenes, nice cinematography, the director is not without talent and the acting by the leads is very good. It is slow but somehow never boring and worth a watch if you consider yourself a cinephile.

Benjamin Millepied is a Filmaker. The three lead characters are fabulous. Melissa Barrera, she can sing, she can dance and she's able to embody a character. Paul mescal in a different kind of character we used to know him : a TOUGH guy (soldier)... I'm glad a director was visionnary enough, to explore the captivating charisma of Rossy de Palma. The dance sequences are fascinating, i love seeing the differents slow-motion used during the whole movie to bring a unique tone to this picture... Marvelous i am pleasantly surprised, and for the future i want to see more pictures signed by Benjamin Millepied.