Diva Directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix. Starring Wilhelmenia Fernandez (Cynthia Hawkins), Fredric Andre (Jules), Richard Bohringer (Gorodish), An Luu Thuy ( Alba). A Films A2 Greenwich Film Production / Les Films Galaxie production. Runtime: France:117 / USA:123 Reviewed by Mike Turton.
This stylish film has it all -- a complex plot, plenty of action, beautiful music, exotic and interesting people, improbable relationships, a satisfying ending -- even a few gratuitous breasts thrown in for good measure (this is a French movie, after all).
_Diva_ tells the story of a mail courier in Paris who, among other things, is the obsessed fan of a famous opera singer who has sworn never to make a recording of her singing. One day he secretly tapes her giving a concert. News of the tape gets out and he becomes the object of an intense hunt by a comically sinister Japanese company eager to cut a record. At the same time, in an entirely unrelated incident, a set of gangsters, under pursuit by the police, ditches a tape which implicates a powerful politician in the carryall of his moped. The tapes become confused.................
There are so many things to like about this offbeat visit to Paris. The juxtaposition of intensely punk, strongly-drawn characters from the mean streets with the unearthlyl beauty of the world of opera provides a kind of postmodern mixture of frames of reference that gives the film a surreal, kinesthetic feel. Jules the courier (and the viewer with him) is constantly finding himself navigating in worlds whose boundaries and taboos are unknown to him, pursued by the police, the mob, record companies and his own conscience. The film becomes the story of his on-the-fly improvisations. Driving the film too is the threat and reality of violence, including a terrific motorcycle chase through the streets of Paris, and a chilling killer who speaks only once. The tremendous presence of Fernandez and her amazing voice anchor the film, giving it a psychic weight that prevents it from becoming too light.
In sum, _Diva_ is one for curling up with your SO and a bag of popcorn. This reviewer gives it a 4.5 out of 5.
Copyright 1998 by Mike Turton
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