EVITA 1996
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1997 Timothy Voon
1 :-) Viva Eva
Cast: Madonna, Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Pryce, Jimmy Nail Director: Alan Parker Screenplay: Alan Parker and Oliver Stone Cinematography: Darius Khondji Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber Lyrics: Tim Rice
Sometimes, knowing the unpleasant and unfortunate outcome of a story, before it unfolds, will destroy ones appreciation of the movie itself. Yes, I watched a documentary on Eva Peron, before I watched the musical "Evita." What shocked me about the documentary was the abuse that the mummified body of Eva Peron suffered at the hands of the anti-Peronists. I won't go into gory details but here's the low down. After the fall of the Peron government, Eva has some of her fingers and part of her ear cut off for an identification process. She is stored away in a plain wooden coffin, at a secret location for fear that her dead body will spark a revolution. Somehow, her body and coffin end up in a shady general's office, where it is rumoured that the general committed acts of necrophilia. After another change of government, her body is sent to France and buried under a false name for a number of years. The winds of change blows frequently in Argentina, before another change of government finally allows the return of Eva's body to her family. She now lies buried beneath fifteen feet of marble.
If this sad finale, doesn't wreck one's appreciation of Evita, I'm not sure what will. On a brighter note, I was impressed with the lyrical style of the movie, which is mostly photogenic images of Madonna, Antonio and Jonathan set to song. It is a long sit with no dialogue, but the patient will eventually end up appreciating the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. The most moving moment is when the title song "Evita" is sung. Although Madonna does not have the voice to perform the song to it's full impact, she manages to hold her notes. In fact watching Madonna's solid performance as Eva Peron, was perhaps this movie's greatest surprise. I'm quite shocked that I am actually complimenting the likes of this pop diva. Maybe it's because she is only allowed to sing and not speak, which makes her believable as Peron. It's like the Holly Hunter paradox in "The Piano", where she acts better when she isn't given any dialogue. Antonio Banderas is ever reliable as the song and tune narrator who appears at every scene to give the viewers some perspective on where they are on the Perone timeline. Jonathon Pryce a talented character actor, fills the shoes of Juan Peron with ease.
So if it wasn't for the fact that I had seen the documentary before the film, I would have appreciated "Evita" more. Cause every time I saw Eva on screen, I couldn't help but want to barf at knowing what would happen to the poor women after she died. Here I go again, where's the bathroom?
Timothy Voon e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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