Diva

Diva is a movie that seems just as stunning and unique to me today as it did when I first saw it 20 years ago. One of those movies that you will remember forever.

On the surface, it's an exercise in pure style, combining exciting, "hip" visuals with great music (opera as well as some great atmospheric incidental music). But there are hundreds of movies like that. What makes Diva so memorable to me is the way it combines this stylish cinematic eye candy with a suspenseful plot, good acting, a touch of romance and sex, and even a smattering of philosophy (as the title character explains her reasons for not allowing her voice to be recorded, not to mention the immortal bread-buttering scene).

It sounds like a recipe for a boring, highly stylized "European" movie, but this is a film where the excitement never flags for a minute. One of the true gems of 80s cinema. As a friend said "If you wanted to be hip in the 80s, you had to have seen 'Liquid Sky', 'Repo Man' and 'Diva'". But even today, you should see it just because it's a great movie.

I watched 'Diva' the other day for the first time in at least fifteen years and it really held up. Long regarded as a pivotal 1980s art film, it has influenced many subsequent film makers, in advertising, and music videos. I'd say Ridley Scott was aware of it when he shot 'Blade Runner' and that opens up a whole can of worms. One could argue that 'Diva', though by no means science fiction, was a strong influence on William Gibson and other cyberpunk writers. Director Beineix is probably best know for the erotic classic 'Betty Blue', but this is a much more original and interesting movie. Beineix uses every trick in the book to make this movie visually stunning, but the plot is also strong, concerning the confusion between tapes of an Opera singer who abhors recordings, and evidence which can nail a corrupt cop. A young messenger (Frederic Andrei) gets caught up in this mistake and his life is soon at risk. Along the way he also comes to have an odd relationship with the singer in question (Wilhelmenia Fernandez), as well as a strange art student cum shoplifter (Thuy An Luu). Nothing is straightforward in 'Diva' but it is consistently watchable. Keep an eye out for Jean-Pierre Jeunet regular Dominique Pinot as a cool looking punk thug, and also the outstanding motorcycle sequence. A very good movie. Recommended.

Diva was very influential on me as a young college student. Diva represented the archetype of a foreign art film. Sure it was new, strange, and unpredictable as Avante-Garde films tend to be. But it was more than that.

I've seen Diva three times -all in the 1980's. Twenty years later, what I remember most is not the plot and the message, but the rich texture of the film. As a viewer I was submersed in a new and different reality; one that was visually stunning, intriguing, and edgy. The submersion was achieved both visually and with the hauntingly beautiful soundtrack.

The colors man, the colors... Diva included many beautiful shot scenes with intense colors and dramatic lighting. There are several shots the stills of which could be turned into farmable artwork. At the time I was thinking they would make great dorm-room posters.

I think Diva has had a lasting influence on cinematography. You may have noticed that movies, TV shows and especially advertisements have moved to be very color intense. Dramatic lighting showing sharp contrasting hues, are the norm. Diva was the first film I can remember with rich color saturation made intentionally to make this type of artistic impression.

Another movie whose cinematography was likely influenced by Diva is Betty Blue (1986).

The first time I saw "Diva" I hated it so much I walked out with only 10 minutes to go because I didn't want to waste another minute of my life. I saw it again last night, years later, and for the life of me couldn't figure out why I had hated it so much.

"Diva" is a very stylish, very esoteric, very "French" film. So if any of those descriptions scare you, you might end up hating it. On the flip side, beware if you're a hardcore art film fan, because this movie is also a straightforward crime/action flick. So if the phrase "action flick" makes you cringe, you might end up hating it also. In other words, "Diva" straddles the worlds of Godard ("Contempt") and Michael Bay ("The Transformers"). And it has the potential to offend anyone who hates either extreme.

The plot, based on the 1979 novel "Diva" by Daniel Odier, is about a young moped-riding hero who finds himself in possession of two different tapes, one wanted by criminal gangsters and the other wanted by equally vicious corporate suits. The kid himself is mostly clueless, but he is taken under the wing of a mysterious millionaire who gets involved... sort of a Bruce Wayne without the Bat outfit. The "Diva" in the title is an opera singer who is played and, even more impressively, *sung* by the amazing Wilhelmenia Fernandez who in real life is known for her haunting rendition of "La Wally" as sung in this film. She is the one whose voice ends up on a bootleg tape, which is wanted by the corporate suits, who are chasing our hero, who is also running from gangsters, who want a different tape he has.

If the plot sounds tricky, perhaps comical, that's because it is. There are a lot of twists, turns, criss-crosses and surprises to keep you entertained. And while there aren't any outright punchlines and gags, there are some bits of humor and over-the-top characterizations that can only be interpreted as satirical. Example: the grumpy gangster played by the awesome Dominique Pinon whose only lines seem to be: "I hate cops", "I hate Beethoven", "I hate parking decks", and so forth (stick around til the end to find out evidently the 1 thing he likes).

But the real reason to enjoy this film is its artistic, stylish presentation. Directed by Jean-Jacques Beneix, this is perhaps his best example of a film style he practically defined in the 80s, known as "cinéma du look". This style is characterized by non-naturalistic, self-conscious aesthetics, notably intense colors and lighting effects. For example, the millionaire's loft is drenched in vivid blues. The city chase scenes seem to have an eery, artificial red/pink hue. And the Diva's rooms are a high-contrast, Kubrickian white.

Everyone in this movie is cool. Like too-cool-for-school cool. It glorifies classical music fans, gangsters, hipsters, rich folks, poor folks, Americans, Koreans, French, kleptomaniacs, prostitutes, good guys, bad guys, and everyone except that one poor slob who works at the carnival. Everyone is cool and in control.

Add to that the creative camera shots, for example lots of reflections (in the bad guys' sunglasses, or in the hubcap of a car, etc), and there you definitely have "stylish".

The music is artistic, but artistic in a very 80s sort of way (almost pop, a little bit cheezy at times but still cool). And of course Wilhelmenia's singing of the operatic piece from "La Wally" is gorgeous, and the film opens with a generous music-only scene where we can truly enjoy it.

So, upon my 2nd viewing, I recommend this film. I think the only reason why I hated it at first was because I was comparing it to Beneix's 1986 masterpiece "Betty Blue" (37°2 le matin), which digs much deeper into poetry and character development, while sacrificing the intense plot that "Diva" has.

I would compare "Diva" to the more plot-oriented films of Wim Wenders ("Faraway, So Close", "Until the End of the World", "End of Violence") and Ridley Scott of the 80s ("Black Rain", "Someone to Watch Over Me" ...incidentally Wilhelmenia Fernandez was also on the soundtrack of that one, singing "La Wally"). With "Diva"'s exaggerated colors and large sets, I might also compare it to the visual style--visuals only--of Jean-Pierre Jeunet ("City of Lost Children", "Amelie"), Tom Tykwer ("Winter Sleepers", "Run Lola Run") and the talented Japanese filmmaker Hideaki Anno ("Ritual"). There might even be a dash of Kieslowski ("The Double Life of Veronique", "Three Colors"). If you like any of the films or directors I've mentioned, you should give "Diva" a shot. And if you hate it the first time, be sure to try it again a few years later.

A wonderful combination of many genres - Action / Drama / Mystery / Romance / Thriller / Music/Art, this tale of two tapes may actually change the way you think about opera.

Wilhelmenia Fernandez as Cynthia Hawkins (Diva) who always refused to be recorded - is a revelation; her voice, a magic mixture of melted pure gold and crystal is a miracle.

There are so much more in this absolutely unique film - just to mention a certain shoplifting technique, or the coolest chase which started in the streets of Paris and ended in the subway's car.

The most fascinating thing for me is that Diva was released about twenty years ago in Moscow, I remember the title - but I never saw it back then. Better later than never.

Highly recommended - 9/10