Carmen (2022 film)

Carmen is a 2022 musical drama film directed by Benjamin Millepied in his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Alexander Dinelaris Jr., Loïc Barrère and Millepied from a screen story by Millepied and Barrère. The film stars Melissa Barrera, Paul Mescal, Rossy de Palma, and Tracy "The DOC" Curry. Though described as Millepied's take on Bizet's opera of the same name,[5][6] it is "a complete re-imagining" that ignores the opera's plot and setting; all that remains are "selected lyrics" from the opera's libretto sung in the original French by a choir as background to one scene between the two leads.[7] The film features an original score composed by Nicholas Britell and songs written and composed by Brittell, Taura Stinson, Julieta Venegas, and Curry.[8]

Carmen
French theatrical release poster
Directed byBenjamin Millepied
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Benjamin Millepied
  • Loïc Barrère
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJörg Widmer
Edited byDany Cooper
Music byNicholas Britell
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 11 September 2022 (2022-09-11) (TIFF)
  • 21 April 2023 (2023-04-21) (United States)
  • 14 June 2023 (2023-06-14) (France)
  • 13 July 2023 (2023-07-13) (Australia)
Running time
116 minutes
Countries
  • Australia
  • France
  • United States[2]
Languages
  • English
  • Spanish
Box office$57,592[4]

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 2022. It was released in the United States on 21 April 2023 by Sony Pictures Classics, and is scheduled to be released in France on 14 June 2023 by Pathé Distribution, and later in Australia on 13 July by Madman Films.

Premise

Carmen flees the Mexican desert, is rescued by Aidan, and together they struggle to evade the authorities as they head for Los Angeles.[8]

Cast

Production

In May 2017, Benjamin Millepied was set to make his feature film directorial debut with the film version of Carmen for Chapter 2, originally conceived as "a modern-day reimagining of one of the world's most celebrated operas".[5] Once completed, Millepied recognized his film was less an adaptation than "a version of Bizet's tragedy from a parallel universe".[9] Loïc Barrère and Millepied will write the script. In May 2019, Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights for the film and Nilo Cruz will write the script.[10] In November 2020, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. was revealed to have co-written the script with Millepied and Loïc Barrère.[11]

Casting

In May 2019, it was announced that Melissa Barrera and Jamie Dornan were cast as Carmen and Aidan, respectively.[10] In November 2020, Paul Mescal replaced Dornan and Rossy de Palma was cast in the film.[11]

Filming

Principal photography commenced on 18 January 2021 in Australia with Jörg Widmer as the cinematographer,[11] and wrapped in early March 2021.[12]

Music

Nicholas Britell composed the score and co-wrote the songs with Julieta Venegas, Taura Stinson and Tracy "The DOC" Curry.[10][11] Lynn Fainchtein served as music producer and music supervisor.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 2022.[8] It had a limited theatrical release in the United States on 21 April 2023 by Sony Pictures Classics.[13] It is set to be released theatrically in France on 14 June 2023 by Pathé Distribution,[14] and later in Australia on 13 July by Madman Films.[3]

Reception

Carmen received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 64 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Benjamin Millepied reinvents Prosper Mérimée's tragic novella as a dance extravaganza full of sound and fury signifying a hollow emotional core, although the ravishing style is a treat onto itself."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 60 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[16]

References
  1. "Carmen (2020)". UniFrance. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  2. Lodge, Guy (21 April 2023). "Carmen Review: Paul Mescal and Melissa Barrera Lead an Update of the Old Spanish Tragedy That Has Plenty of Fire But No Real Heat". Variety. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  3. Madman Films [@MadmanFilms] (3 May 2023). "A one-of-a-kind cinematic vision. Melissa Barrera & Paul Mescal star in Carmen. The debut film from @B_Millepied, with a majestic score by @NicholasBritell. Coming to Australian cinemas July 13" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 May 2023 – via Twitter.
  4. "Carmen (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  5. Keslassy, Elsa (4 May 2017). "Dimitri Rassam, Helen Estabrook to Produce Benjamin Millepied's Debut Carmen (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  6. Hall, Margaret (2 February 2023). "Modern Film Reimagining of Carmen Starring Paul Mescal and Melissa Barrera to Receive Theatrical Release". Playbill. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  7. Tangcay, Jazz (7 September 2022). "How Filmmaker Benjamin Millepied and Nicholas Britell Used Choirs to Help 'Carmen' Sing". Variety. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  8. "Carmen, Benjamin Millepied". Toronto International Film Festival. 9 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  9. Ehrlich, David (11 September 2022). "'Carmen' Review: Lovers on the Run in Benjamin Millepied's Unclassifiable Dance Odyssey". IndieWire. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  10. Keslassy, Elsa (15 May 2019). "Jamie Dornan, Melissa Barrera to Star in Carmen; Sony Pictures Classics Buys Rights (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  11. Keslassy, Elsa (11 November 2020). " 'Normal People' Star Paul Mescal Joins Melissa Barrera in Benjamin Millepied's Carmen (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  12. "Paul Mescal wraps filming Carmen in Australia". Coup De Main Magazine. 9 March 2021.
  13. Lambert, Harper (1 February 2023). "'Carmen' Starring Paul Mescal and Melissa Barrera Gets Theatrical Release". TheWrap. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  14. "Carmen" (in French). Pathé Films. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  15. "Carmen". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  16. "Carmen". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
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