Ária

Ten directors make short films based on their favourite operatic arias. Lots of pretty pictures, but most of the segments are either pointless, senseless, or dull. Exceptions: the contributions of Jarman, Russell, Sturridge, and Temple.

I took very brief notes on each: "Un ballo in maschera": dull, clumsy, amateurish-looking and incoherent. D- "La virgine degli angeli": weird, dream-like story works; good cinematography. A- "Armide": weird and seemingly pointless, though not boring and vaguely artistic. B- "Rigoletto": this funny segment tells the most straightforward story. A- "Die tote Stadt": pointless, uneventful pretty pictures. D+ "Les Boréades": pointless incoherence. D "Liebestod": baffling sex and death story with pretty pictures. C- "Nessun dorma": clever, disturbing abstract art. B+ "Depuis le jour": somewhat effective. B "I pagliacci": slightly affecting opera scene is too simple. C+

I have long wanted to comment on this film but have found doing so extremely difficult. When released it was promoted as a major work of art, whereas in practice it is a hodge podge of short sequences, unrelated in either style or content, so why bother with it? By its nature it could never have been a great film. Think of any film that you personally regard as a great work of art and imagine what it would have been like if it had been divided into ten segments, each created by a different Director commissioned to portray a different but fundamental aspect of human existence................

Aria "bombed" badly when it was first released - I left the cinema feeling that, despite many interesting sequences, I would not want to see it again. But some sequences proved very seductive, and I rented a tape to re-watch them a few months later. After this happened a second time I knew I must have my own copy; this has since become one of the most frequently viewed tapes in my private collection. The film comprises a collection of short segments, each presented against the background of a well known operatic aria, but illustrating or featuring some vital aspect of life as we live it. We can quickly decide which of the various segments mean most to us, but we need much longer to decide why and in what ways the others are less satisfactory. Such thoughts keep returning even when we believe we have basically forgotten the film, and ultimately make it virtually unforgettable. Clearly, even though we are not dealing with a great film, it is a very important one.

The only link between the ten segments of this film is the fact that each is presented against the background of a well known operatic aria. I would have expected opera buffs, who are totally familiar with each of the arias (and their context in the opera concerned), to have been much less enthusiastic about the very different and individualistic interpretations created by the selected directors than other viewers who are not really familiar with opera as an art form, and who accepted the aria concerned simply as background music. But from comments already recorded in the IMDb database this does not seem to be the case. Opera buffs as described above mostly seem to be significantly more appreciative of the various segments of this film than other viewers. This suggests both that the main appeal of opera lies in the music rather than the libretto; and that opera lovers are more ready to associate the arias with the emotions which the individual film directors are attempting to arouse, even when these are not those of the original opera.

Ultimately we are left with ten short films by leading directors, each visually creating an emotional experience associated with ordinary life. Inevitably each viewer will find that some segments will appeal whilst others do not. For each viewer the segments which appeal most will depend upon their individual character and life experiences. There are no rights and wrongs in this respect; and reviews of this film which suggest that segments A, B and C are excellent, whilst X, Y and Z are failures, are of very little value. A more helpful approach seems to be listing those aspects of life that the ten directors felt were brought to the forefront of their attention when they first studied their aria, and subsequently attempted to interpret visually in their segments. Not surprisingly love seems to be the most important of these, it is featured in half of the ten segments. One shows the love between a newly married couple; a second shows a not much older couple who have retained their love but have become disillusioned by the life they have lived, have few expectations for the future, and are prepared to end their lives together; a third shows the pain of unrequited love; a fourth the faded love between a married couple who are cheating; and a fifth the obverse side of love, obsessive hatred that has festered to the point where one human being is driven to plan the final destruction of another. These segments (as well as some of the others) feature extensive nudity and have led to comments that the film is little more than soft porn. This seems unfair - nudity still has a strong emotional impact and is therefore a useful tool for a director faced with creating imagery that effectively conveys the message he intends within a very brief ten minute film sequence.

Another universal aspect of human life is death, not surprisingly this is also recognised in several of the segments, Other emotions featured in these ten segments include humour and pathos, the subconscious urge felt even by the most beautiful women to adorn themselves, and the tranquility that old age can bring to those who feel they have done the best they can with their lives. An interesting challenge for those who do not know this film but are familiar with other works by the directors involved would be to watch these various segments and then try to identify the director responsible. Overall, it would be hard for anyone to watch this film without experiencing a strong emotional reaction to one of more of these segments; and it would be almost impossible for any individual review to do this film justice even if IMDb relaxed their length restriction on comments. This above all is a film where I would have expected that the opportunity to exchange comments about the various segments on the IMDb message board would have appealed to all those who have viewed it. For some reason this does not seem to have been the case.

Robert Altman, Nicolas Roeg, John-Luc Goddard--you were expecting a fun film the entire family could enjoy? These and other directors were obviously chosen because they have not followed the mainstream, but created it. For those that complain that they did not adhere to the original story of the opera--How often does the music in a film directly relate to what is going on in the film? It is the mood that counts. This is what I believe the directors of these movies were doing: creating a contemporary mood for old operas. For the most part they succeed wonderfully. With all these operas, who is going to like them all. We could have used more Beverly Sills.

Finally, what is art (even opera) without a few naked women?

Sure, it has its pretentious moments, it plays like art-house, live-action Fantasia, but it also has moments of deep beauty and humor. Omnibus films are always a problem, but I have always had a keen interest in them. I will now rate the segments individually.

Nicolas Roeg - "Un ballo in maschera" - This segment may very well spoil the film for some people, because it is absolutely the worst of the whole bunch. It is difficult to follow, mostly because it tries to adhere to a clear plot (a hackneyed one, at that). The photography is unaccomplished. The best thing about it is the bit of Lesbian homoerotica that it never does enough with. This segment made me VERY nervous about continuing. 2/10.

Charles Sturridge - "La virgine degli angeli" - an unclear segment, but it hardly matters. The film has the best cinematography of the bunch, mainly because it is in a stunning black and white. The segment is dreamlike and beautiful. 7/10.

Jean-Luc Godard - "Armide" - I chose to brave this much-maligned film for the Godard and Altman segments. With Godard, I was much more impressed than I thought I would be. I can't claim to have seen all that many of his films since he made so many that almost no one has seen, but, judging from what I have seen, this may be his best work since the 60s. It is the funniest segment in this film, and the most artistically accomplished. Bravo, Jean-Luc! 9/10.

Julien Temple - "Rigoletto" - a very funny segment, it is also quite predictable. Still, this story about a husband and wife who are cheating on each other at the same resort is wonderfully filmed with long, complex tracking shots that depend on precisely timed choreography from the actors. It also has a great self-referencing joke about omnibus films themselves. The final scene is very weak. 7/10.

Bruce Beresford - "Die tote Stadt" - this short segment involves too lovers in (I think) Venice. It is pretty, with some nice shots of doves flying about the city. It is slight, but nice. 7/10.

Robert Altman - "Les Boréades" - not one of the better segments, unfortunately, this is more of a music video than a concept short film. It involves the occupants of an insane asylum attending a theatrical performance. The music and images work well together, so at least I can give it credit for being a good music video. 7/10

Franc Roddam - "Liebestod" - somewhat unfortunate for Beresford's segment, this segment is very similar to it. As you might assume from my phrasing, this one struck me much more. It is about a young man and his girl going to Las Vegas on a fatalistic voyage. 8/10.

Ken Russell - "Nessun dorma" - maybe the most visually striking segment, it plays in a fantasy world more than in reality. It is a beautiful tale of a fallen angel. 8/10.

Derek Jarman - "Depuis le jour" - I have heard a lot about Jarman, and this is the first piece of filmmaking I have seen from him. Hopefully, I'll see more in the future. This one is also music-videoish, but it is better than Altman's segement. It mainly concerns an old woman remembering her younger days. The editing and the use of different film stocks to represent both time and emotion are very beautiful. 8/10.

Bill Bryden - "I pagliacci" - the sad clown, possibly one of the most famous arias (particularly memorable from an episode of Seinfeld), this serves as the material separating each segement and the finale. It is simple and effective. 7/10.

Overall, I give it a solid 7/10. It isn't anywhere near as bad as you've heard.

10 respected directors each shot a short film with operatic arias as the inspiration (and music). I'll do each one separately:

Nicolas Roeg (dir)--Giuseppe Verdi (music). A story about an assassination attempt in 1931 Vienna. Theresa Russell (Roegs wife) plays a man! Not bad--very beautiful and exotic. Russell is great.

Charles Sturridge--Verdi. No story but there is some haunting black and white imagery that fits perfectly with the music.

Jean-Luc Godard--Jean Baptiste Lully. Horrendous. Pointless, boring, no plot, no nothing. Filled with gratuitous female nudity. The worst!

Julien Temple--Verdi. Buck Henry, Beverly D'Angelo and Anita Morris star in this funny, if obvious, story about a cheating couple. Pretty good.

Bruce Beresford--Erich Korngold. Short, lush and romantic. Very good.

Robert Altman--Jean-Philippe Rameau. Dull. A yawner.

Fran Roddam--Richard Wagner. This has Bridget Fonda in her film debut. Beautifully done love story with a fairly explicit sex scene.

Ken Russell--Giacomo Puccini. Really strange but OK.

Derek Jarman--Gustave Chapentier. Lyrical look at youth and old age. Very sweet.

The last is by Bill Bryden doing "I Pagliacci". He has John Hurt (!) dressed as a clown lip-syncing to Caruso (!!!).

When this came out it almost got an X rating (for the abundant nudity and the sex scene). It was given an R with a strict warning attached saying the R rating would be heavily enforced. After the film bombed that warning disappeared.

The idea isn't bad and 6 out of the 10 segments were worthwhile. Worth seeing even if you don't like opera. Just avoid the Godard segment. I'm giving it an 8.