Choreographer, Benjamin Millepied, brings us his directorial debut with his version of Carmen. Though the film is loosely based on the Opera, there are many familiar aspects of the story missing. Melissa Barrera, described the film as an origin story on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Melissa says, “basically, it is nothing like the Opera except for the character”.
The film follows Carmen (Melissa Barrera) as she flees her home in Mexico after her mother is murdered. While attempting to cross the border illegally, she encounters a lawless volunteer border guard, Aidan (Paul Mescal). Due to circumstances beyond their control, they find each other traveling towards Los Angeles together. Carmen feels like a fresh idea, in a world of remakes and sequels. Though a bit unsteady at times, the movie brings an exciting new medium to a story that’s been told before. Melissa Barrera and Paul Mescal’s chemistry is palpable, which will quickly find you rooting for this unlikely couple.
It’s a love story unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
I had the privilege of watching this film a few weeks before its release and I still find myself thinking about the opening scene; a lone flamenco dancer performs on a wooden board in the middle of a Mexican desert. The tension in that scene is the perfect introduction to this story. The dancing is an important character in this film, it’s used to amplify the emotional tension that carries throughout the story. It elevates the storytelling and helps you forget the plot points that don’t fully evolve into anything.
Specifically, there was something missing between Melissa and Paul’s interactions, it’s not that I didn’t believe in their chemistry. The chemistry is there, so much so that I find their most powerful moments happen when there’s no dialogue between them; their energy pulls you in immediately. I just think that maybe we didn’t spend enough time nurturing their relationship. Therefore, the devastation at the end of the film really doesn’t hit the way that it’s meant to.
Paul Mescal plays the perfect broody and troubled Aiden. The thing about Mescal that is so absolutely captivating is that he isn’t afraid to be vulnerable on screen. Whether he’s dancing in the middle of the dessert with Melissa and standing in a corner watching Melissa’s Carmen have an emotional awakening, you feel every aspect of his inner thoughts.
If Melissa Barrera has 100 fans, I am one of them. If she has 10 fans, I am one of them. If she has 1 fan, I am the one. If Melissa Barrera has no fans, that means I’ve died. I have yet to see a performance from Melissa that doesn’t feel life altering. Her presence on screen is magnetic and she plays the perfect Carmen. There’s an innocence in Carmen at the beginning of the film that is slowly shed throughout the film, the transformation is subtle but Melissa plays it beautifully.
Nicholas Britell will always be famous. His collaborations with Barry Jenkins are what initially put him on my radar but now his credits include Andor, Succession, The King and so many more! Not quite sure how he perfectly captures emotion into his scores but here I am after pouring myself over the Carmen (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) and feeling far too many emotions.
Carmen is an immigration story unlike anything that we’ve ever seen. Not only does it humanize the people that cross the border, but it reminds you just how beautiful their stories can be. It centers a Mexican woman in a lyrical and poetic journey that is absolutely romanticized and we deserve that! We deserve to be loved and to love out loud. We deserve to dance and to grow and to live long enough to discover things about ourselves that make us proud.
You can now watch Carmen in NY & LA. If you live in either of those cities and you don’t go watch this film, I don’t want to hear peep from you about representation. This is the kind of film we’ve been craving!
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