Diva

Overambition is always risky. Diva is so plot heavy that it almost cracks, but it is delicious and entertaining. As far as genre is concerned, this movie flirts with several, but I think it is safe to label Diva as essentially a neo noir. It is darkly romantic, full of corruption, and photographed in spectacular fashion. The colours are rich and the camera work is exquisite. The movie is almost great but not quite. In an attempt to bring everything together, it has a little climax trouble.

A tape of evidence with exposes the Chief inspector of Paris as crooked ends up in the moped satchel of a mail boy named Jules, who suddenly finds himself being hunted down by goons with guns. But that's not his only problem. Jules has made a secret recording of his favourite opera singer live in concert. This singer has blatantly refused to do any recordings, and when word gets out that such a recording exists, different people are going after it. It is ever more essential that Jules keep it hidden, considering, that he and his singer friend have become intimate friends.

Even though Diva enjoys piling it up by the pound, it does so in a compelling fashion. It is a good balance of bold and slick. There are a few clichés buried beneath the labyrinth plot that a picky person may be drawn to pick out, but I enjoyed Diva for its sense of non- convention. It puts character before character type, and tension above twist.

Cinematography plays an exceptional role in this motion picture, which captures Paris in a far more exuberant way than I am used to seeing (and I've been there). One item about the city which has never appeal to me is that it is very grey, with not enough green. Grey is the last of the colours on Diva's colour pallet (execpt when necessary). This motion picture prefers something a little more romantic or expressive. like a jazzy blue, or a fiery red.

I can easily give Diva a pass, and I can recommend it on numerous grounds. As a non-Hollywood thriller, Diva is exceptional, but it is not a film for the soft minded. It gets a bit too convoluted, not too messy, but there is a sense that it could use a slight reworking. This is not a light motion picture, but it ain't a dull one either.

Two tapes, an opera lover, thugs, and a corrupt official are the center of "Diva," a French film from 1981.

When a woman being chased drops a tape into a mailman's pouch, an opera-loving postman, Jules (Frédéric Andréi), finds himself involved in murder and mayhem.

Jules has recently secretly recorded his opera idol, Cynthia Hawkins (Wilhemina Wiggins Fernandez) in a concert. She has never been recorded and refuses to make any.

Apparently she only sings one aria in this concert, "Ebben! Ne andro lontana" (I will go far away) from La Wally, or at least that's all we hear her sing and all Jules listens to on tape.

Jules becomes a target for men who want the tape the woman put into his mailbag, which incriminates a government official in prostitution. Fortunately, before his place is trashed; he asks a new friend, Alba (Thuy An Luu) to keep the Hawkins recording for him.

Really excellent film with great chase scenes, including an exciting motorcycle chase which even involves the French subway.

The Paris location adds an atmospheric layer.

Fernandez is a stunning diva, and a good actress, but I had some trouble with her vocal production. It's a beautiful voice, but I've heard the La Wally aria sung better. She did a much better job on the Ave Maria and the part of "O patria mia" she sang, which were easier and more lyrically sung.

Highly recommended for the acting, its intricate plot, its dark Parisian streets, and beautiful music.

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 saw Diva for the first time as a college student in a film class art theater marathon. I'd just finished the most boring excuse for a movie ever made (no offense to fans of "My Dinner with Andre") and went in to see Diva.

I was floored. The most beautiful example of "disastre deluxe" I've ever seen - everything is so rundown it's gorgeous. The music perfectly matches the whole film. The performances are not "realistic", but they are not meant to be.

This is obviously not a piece of cinema verite and shouldn't be reviewed as such. "Diva" is a 2 hour tour de force of cinema as experience. One of the finest films I've ever seen.

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