U-Carmen eKhayelitsha

Call me a softy, or sentimental, but merging two ancient traditions to see it not only work but enforce each other is nothing short of a miracle. I think it's a victory for the human experience to discover that boundaries are artificial and should be disposed of. I think the clinking and clonking of the stairs and the passing trains during the final scene are plea for honesty and integrity in contemporary cinema. It also shows how stuck up we are in today's operatic environment. The ability to suggest leniency towards what is real in this movie is absolutely brilliant. Watching a movie like this one gives me hope that there are still people out there who believe movie making is a form of expression of what we believe freedom should feel like. Another encouraging element is the sense of community that this movie is exhaling without romanticizing the life of the poor; they're proud of their community, they're proud of their traditions and they love to show it (although no animals were harmed). The only problem I have is that I will never be able to see Carmen, the opera, in the traditional way again. On the other hand, think of the possibilities, Hamlet in the rain forest, Ibsen in Tehran, Brecht in Mumbai - thinks are looking up in the world.

Can anyone imagine the immortal Georges Bizet opera "Carmen" relocated to another continent? Well, that is exactly what the creators of this film decided to do. They moved the location from Seville to a South African township near Cape Town to set the action. The result is an interesting movie in which most of the opera sung in Xhosa.

This is not a typical adaptation of this work because it asks the viewer to make allowances for the way one conceived the classical work. By bringing it to a different geographical location, the characters take new meaning in the action. Carmen, the sultry cigarette factory worker is the object of desire from the good cop, Jongi, who reads the bible. Carmen lures him to work with an expatriate, who is the son of a slain anti apartheid legend.

This work was staged in South Africa and then made into this film. Mark Dornford-May who wrote and directed, probably wanted to present the work with a different point of view but keeping the core of the story and original songs. Pauline Malefane, who plays Carmen, worked in the translation from French into Xhosa with excellent results.

The South African cast does an excellent job in what Mr. Dornford-May set out to accomplish. The characters feel real in the context where they are situated, giving the film a great feeling for what unfolds on screen.

I don't know why I can't find this movie anywhere in the USA. I saw it in London shortly after it was released. U-Carmen e-Khayelitsha is a departure from the usual movie story-telling. It is novel in it's entire mix of opera and life. It suspends reality right in the middle of reality. It is gorgeous - the colors, the acting, the music and the storyline of course. If you don't walk out with a deeper love of South Africa then you must have closed your eyes. This is such a joyous movie. A must-see particularly if you've had enough of the usual fare. U-Carmen forced me to the realization that Hollywood is formulaic in ways so ingrained I don't even notice. But watch this movie and the cobwebs of Hollywood will be swept away with the banality of your everyday life.

This film, a remake of the opera Carmen set in a South African township and sung in Xhosa, is fantastic. Pauline Malefane was amazing in the role of Carmen. Director Dornford-May played on his experience as a theater director for some real strengths in this movie -- I liked the way he stuck to the Greek theatrical convention of bloodshed happening offstage throughout the film without shirking from the sense of violence underpinning both the original opera and this new setting. The ways in which he wove in quirkier elements from the opera Carmen were delightful (I thought: How on earth is he going to get a bullfighter in here?), and the interplay between the Carmen score and South African music was superb. I loved it.

The modern south African set up of "Carmen" does not spoil one bit the thrill of this all times love story. One does not need to reside in SA to understand the local drama and flavor added to the story. This country is vibrant and full of color and rhythm and thus a local "Carmen" brings up the best in it. The production is sang in Xhosa, one of the 11 official languages of SA and subtitled in English. It is set up in Khayelitsha, a township near Cape Town. It stars Pauline Malefane, a professional singer who grew up in Khayelitsha and who translated the script into Xhosa. It won critical acclaim when it premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Golden Bear award. A must see for all opera lovers and not only.