Dancer-choreographer Benjamin Millepied becomes director! For his first film, Natalie Portman 's partner is inspired by Prosper Mérimée and Bizet's opera to deliver his vision of Carmen, in cinemas on June 14, 2023.
And for this modern retelling, the filmmaker teamed up with Melissa Barrera and Paul Mescal(Aftersun). The former plays Carmen, a young Mexican woman trying to cross the border. She meets Aidan, who saves her life by killing one of his own. What follows is a mad dash across the United States. A race full of tragedy, love and dance.
The question that immediately arises when a work as legendary as Carmen is once again brought to the screen is the appropriateness of the adaptation. In Millepied's case, we might have expected a unique vision, influenced by his years at theParis Opera. But this is not the case... Carmen version 2023 is above all banal. On the same day alone, Claire Denis presented Stars at Noon in cinemas, telling more or less the same story. It's the story of two people on the run, who can only rely on themselves and their budding love. These two films are far from the only ones to exploit this type of narrative scheme.
Inevitably, this results in an unpleasant sense of déjà-vu. Fortunately, when the dance and music come into the story, the long-awaited lyrical flight finally arrives. It's just a pity that they come so late, and that their importance is not so great. Nor does it manage to make us believe in the relationship between the two protagonists, which seems forced and artificial.
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