Carmen

A symbiosis of cinema, theatre, and fiery flamenco — Carlos Saura’s variation on Bizet’s opera Carmen and Prosper Mérimée’s original novella.

In Saura’s film, the body dances itself raw — both literally and metaphorically. This is not an adaptation of Carmen, nor is it a film about staging Carmen — it’s a self-reflexive ballet that emerges before our eyes out of the bitterness of tobacco, sweat, and castanets.
Choreographer Antonio (played by the legendary flamenco dancer Antonio Gades) is searching for a lead in his new version of Carmen — and finds her in Carmen herself. A real one. Like in the novella, she doesn’t act — she lives, seduces, destroys, abandons. As Antonio falls in love, he begins to lose track of what’s real and what’s performance. The studio mirrors reflect precise steps, scenes of jealousy, and fear danced out to Bizet’s fatal music.

 Two Palme d’Or nominations at Cannes, including for artistic contribution. Best Foreign Language Film according to the British Academy.