It is tempting therefore to regard the film as a kind of reclamation for Spain of Bizet's pseudo-Spanish Carmen. So for Saura to base a film on Carmen has a significance not shared by the other two films in his "flamenco trilogy" - Blood Wedding and Love the Magician - where the originals are quintessentially Spanish. Bizet, who never set foot in Spain, based his 1875 opera on a story by Prosper Merimée, also a Frenchman and no matter how Spanish his music sounds, it is merely imitation. Yet one of its national icons - the free-spirited gypsy Carmen, who seduces and abandons men at will - is a totally French creation. ![]() Spanish food, drink, language, literature, music, dance and much else are unique and immediately identifiable. Possibly no country in the western world has a stronger culture than Spain. There is, however, an ironic aspect to the film. ![]() The music and dancing are dramatic, passionate and exciting, especially for those of us who love flamenco and the weaving together of the modern characters and plot with those of the opera is effective, if somewhat contrived. Following in the footsteps of many a Hollywood musical, Saura sets his story in the period of rehearsal before a new production, except in this case there is no successful opening night as the climax of the movie, but a tragic death echoing the opera. ![]() On the face of it, Carlos Saura's 1983 Carmen is simply yet another version - to join dozens of others - of Bizet's world-famous opera, using flamenco music and dance, and a modern story-line, alongside elements of the opera.
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