In 1830s Spain, the writer Próspero (Jay Benedict) meets wanted bandit José (Leonardo Sbaraglia), who tells him his tragic story, in this po-faced, slightly ponderous adaptation of Prosper Mérimée's original novella. José, a Basque soldier, is seduced by the bewitching gypsy whore Carmen (Paz Vega), who leads him on a far-from-merry dance until he's driven to murder both his love rivals and the Satanic object of his desire. Facing death by garrotting, he finally appreciates that cigarette girls can be seriously bad for your health.
There have already been around 25 screen versions of Carmen, ranging from a Charlie Chaplin burlesque, to the all-black Carmen Jones and a contemporary spin from Jean-Luc Godard - the majority exploiting Bizet's magnificent score. In eschewing the familiar operatics for straightforward storytelling, the Spanish filmmakers of this latest version hope the plot is strong enough to carry the movie - and, mostly, it does. The depiction of the period is meticulously conceived, down to the costumes, political climate, and earthy language. Unfortunately, it's let down by naff performances: as the eponymous femme fatale, Vega resembles a fashion model having a strop between cover shoots.
"CARMEN'S ABOUT AS EROTIC AS A STRAW DONKEY"
For such a heady tale of dark sexual obsession, with everything on show, there's a bizarre lack of chemistry between the leads: this Carmen's about as erotic as a straw donkey. After two meandering hours it ends very abruptly, and for that we must be thankful. That said, it's worth bearing in mind that Bizet's much-loved opera - itself just one interpretation of the source novella - actually flopped at its premiere performance in 1875, with audiences put off by the reams of spoken text, which were later trimmed or set to music to belatedly popular acclaim. And it's those songs that you miss the most here.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
Carmen (2004)
