A young Mexican woman fleeing deadly violence and a traumatized American war veteran fall in love while on the run from authorities. Carmen reimagines Bizet’s classic opera as a surreal journey of musical drama and dance. Acclaimed French choreographer Benjamin Millepied, in his feature film debut, eschews a traditional narrative for immersive fantasy. The film can best be described as a fever dream experience that blurs the boundaries of reality. It doesn’t always work and confuses at times, but the sheer creativity on display is remarkable to behold. The talented leads light up the screen with electric chemistry.
A car drives toward a hardscrabble house isolated in the stark Mexican desert — drug cartel killers are looking for Carmen (Melissa Barrera). Her fearless mother, Zilah (Marina Tamayo), dances Flamenco on a wooden plank in defiance. She pays the ultimate price for her courage while a hidden Carmen watches in sadness and fear. The house burns to ground as she walks to the horizon with a backpack of meager belongings. She soon encounters a smuggler willing to take her and desperate others to the American border.
Meanwhile, in Texas, Aiden (Paul Mescal) cooks burgers at a barbecue. He drinks Pepsi while avoiding the flirtations of another man’s wife. Aidan plays guitar and sings alone that night. His sister (Nicole Da Silva) begs him to get a job, so Aidan decides to accept an invitation from Mike (Benedict Hardie) to guard the border. They want experienced soldiers, and he needs money. Carmen develops from there.
Drawn Together by Fate
Sony Pictures
Carmen and a line of tired, hungry immigrants crawl under the border fence. They’re met by the bright lights of a pickup truck. Mike spews racist venom as he indiscriminately opens fire. He has Carmen in his sight but doesn’t get the opportunity; she races to the truck and drives away in terror. Aidan chases after her and leaps into the back. A man and woman drawn together by fate must now contemplate their next move.
Carmen opens with a beautiful, slow motion shot of Carmen and Aiden running into pitch blackness. Voiceover narration by Masilda (Rossy de Palma) speaks poetically in Spanish of broken men and the loyal women who give everything to them. Millepied foretells a tragic love story with hallucinatory imagery, then cuts to the establishing scene of her mother mocking the sicarios. This swing between dreams and perceived reality follows no pattern. The audience must connect the dots and fill in the gaps that aren’t explained. It’s a distinctly artistic approach that hits and misses, with the audience bouncing between being bewildered and enthralled like a ping pong ball.
Millepied’s elaborate dance sequences mesmerizes. Carmen twirls and pirouettes throughout the film with supporting players and a smitten Aidan. His choreography is purposely not fluid or overly graceful. Aidan is defined by raw masculinity, his character softened by Carmen’s lithe femininity. His manly presence intoxicates her. Barrera and Mescal have a fiery connection that loosens collars, and hearts will swoon from their sultry romance.
Never a Straight Path in Carmen
Carmen embraces its vision like a charging bull, and Millepied never takes a straight path. While some parts feel indulgent when standard exposition would have been far more cohesive, it’s admirable to an extent, and understandable. The goal isn’t to spoonfeed a traditional storyline. Ultimately, Carmen is an unrepentant art film.
Carmen is a production of Chapter 2, Goalpost Pictures, TF1 Studio, France 2 Cinéma, and Marvelous Productions. It is currently in limited theatrical release from Sony Pictures Classics.
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