Carmen, 2023.
Directed by Benjamin Millepied.
Starring Melissa Barrera, Paul Mescal, Rossy de Palma, Elsa Pataky, Nicole da Silva, Tara Morice, Benedict Hardie, Kaan Guldur, Pip Edwards, Nico Cortez, Kevin MacIsaac, Richard Brancatisano, Ryan Oliver Gelbart, Corey London, Alejandro Corsino, Marina Tamayo, and Sadie Thornton.
SYNOPSIS:
A young and fiercely independent woman, Carmen, is forced to flee her home in the Mexican desert following the brutal murder of her mother. She survives an illegal border crossing into the US, only to be confronted by a lawless volunteer border guard. When the border guard and his patrol partner Aidan become embroiled in a deadly standoff, the pair is forced to escape together.
Given that Carmen comes from celebrated dance choreographer Benjamin Millepied (Black Swan) teaming up with one of cinema’s current great composers, Nicholas Britell, it only feels right that the approach is less concerned with traditional storytelling and dialogue, homing in on eliciting reactions through pure feeling.
The first-time filmmakers also cast two extraordinarily expressive leads with Melissa Barrera (having already excelled at dancing In the Heights) and Paul Mescal (Oscar-nominated for Aftersun, delivering a performance in that masterpiece that never misses a second to make an audience feel some way about his character).
Based on Georges Bizet’s play of the same name, Benjamin Millepied and screenwriters Alexander Dinelaris Jr. and Loïc Barrère have updated the basic premise of Carmen for modern times, now centered on heated love emerging from a tragic Mexican-border incident (originally taking place in nineteenth-century Spain boasting a similar love story).
The titular Carmen (Melissa Barrera) flees Mexico and heads to Los Angeles following the murder of her mysterious ritualistically dancing mother (there is something otherworldly or prophetic about her) at the hands of the cartel. Meanwhile, Aidan (Paul Mescal) is a traumatized Marine pressured into volunteer border patrol work. Naturally, Carmen and Aiden cross paths, with the latter sticking to his morals and defending her from a trigger-happy racist.
From there, Carmen somewhat becomes unclassifiable, coming across as a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde (they find themselves at violent odds with local law enforcement) by way of Shakespearean star-crossed, doomed romance, replete with abstract dance numbers (accentuated by stunningly colorful cinematography from Jörg Widmer) lyrically speaking to themes of freedom and liberation, sometimes elevated by thought-provoking original lyrics from Taura Stinson and Julieta Venegas. The sequences are so vividly imagined and created that it’s hypnotically easy to go along with the film’s morph into dreamy territory.
Rather conveniently, Carmen stumbles into her godmother (Rossy de Palma), who happens to own a dance club, organically setting her down that path further. This is juxtaposed with Aidan taking on a more dangerous form of dance, looking to throw himself into underground boxing fights (that feature freestyle rap commentary) to provide for himself and Carmen while planning for an escape once the authorities inevitably find them again. There is also possibly some gender commentary here, considering both characters are processing trauma through ballet-like movement but in wildly different ways.
It may sound like Carmen is solely a transfixing visual experience with an orgasmic soundscape, but there’s also a moment where the sexual tension between Carmen and Aiden reaches a breaking point, a scene where they embrace one another (shot with picturesque beauty, as are all the environmental surroundings and gorgeous views) that is profoundly moving despite the admission that there is not much going on here regarding characterization. The connection, juxtapositions, and tragedies are deeply visceral, anchored by simultaneously breathtaking performances alongside poetry in motion.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
