Evita

Excellent Lloyd Webber-Rice musical is finally brought to the silver screen twenty years after the release of its concept album. Being used to watching flashy, colourful musicals, namely from MGM, full of catchy tunes and full of breathtaking dance routines, "Evita" left me quite shocked. It was the first (and last) "political" musical I saw. The music impressed me at once, however the story and the setting did not quite do so at first sight. It was only later, when I read something about the life story of Eva Peron did I really appreciate the excellent work Lloyd Webber and Rice did. Even though they were not 100% faithful to the real story, the bio-musical gave a somewhat clear picture of what type of woman Eva Peron was. The movie was great with its re-enactments of the 1940s-1950s Argentine elections, however, having personally performed in the stage version (playing a descamisado, a waiter, a policeman and one of Eva's lovers), I cannot but point out the several drawbacks it had. It is true that the funeral, the electoral campaign and the terrorism were by far better on screen than on stage, yet the stage musical had a certain charm which was lost in the film. It could be due to the fact that on stage there was some dancing involved while the movie had none; it could be because one was live and one was playback; it could be because some of the harmonies were lost in the movie; it could be simply due to the fact that in one I participated while in the other I was just a spectator. I don't know, still the stage version was more "alive". Nonetheless, in order to be fair, I have to admit that the movie version did have some improvements as regards to the play. The best one of them was the song "You Must Love Me". Apart from finally re-uniting composer and lyricist after more than 10 years of cold war, it presents the First Lady of Argentina as a woman who has some feelings, who is afraid in front of her approaching death, who is not only interested in becoming vice-president, as the stage production tends to hint. How much this is historically true is beyond me, yet it is good to give some human element to the heroine.

I was quite impressed by the actors' interpretations. Madonna has finally showed the world that she is able to look great without taking her clothes off, that she is more than just voice, boobs and scandal. Jonathan Pryce was excellent as the Argentine president - such a pity he had so little to sing, having such a great voice. Antonio Banderas impressed me - I did not know he was that good at singing. The role of the narrator was quite a breakthrough after his ‘tough-guy' parts, and he did it quite well. Some critics said that this movie would set the way for future film versions of musicals - I hope they were right!

The movie Evita, starring Madonna, Antonio Banderas and Johnathan Pryce is a musical account of the life of Eva Peron. An adaptation of the original rock opera by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, the film is told as a flash back with the narrator, Antonio Banderas as Che, recounting the events that have lead to the opening scene: the announcement of Evita's death.

Evita, played by Madonna, was born into poverty in rural Argentina. She was able to climb the social ladder through her numerous male relationships and acting career. Eventually she marries Juan Peron, played by Jonathan Price, who is an up and coming Colonel in the Argentine military. Evita then becomes the first lady when a military lead coup makes Peron President. As first lady, Evita is extremely popular with the general Argentinean population because she is considered to understand the needs of the lower class, as she came from a poor background herself. Peron exploits his wife's popularity by having Evita tour the world and run charitable foundations. As the story develops the narrator portrays Evita as increasingly more negative and aloof to her husband's repressive actions and policies.

From a historical standpoint Evita has many inconsistencies, however, the general storyline is factual and based on Mary Main's biography of Eva Peron. Unfortunately, Mary Main's biography has been criticized as biased because much of her evidence was attained from anti-Peron sources. As a result the movie also shares this historical criticism, and many of the events and portrayals in the film have been disputed. The films' suggestion that Evita was a terrible actress who slept her way to the top has been disproved by historians. Likewise, the film's portrayal of Evita's arrival in Buenos Aires as mistress of a married man has also been proved false. Nonetheless, the core historical events portrayed in the film are on the whole extremely accurate. The movie does a particularly good job of illustrating the social unrest and governmental corruption rampant in Argentina during the 1940's and 1950's. The film also correctly addresses the large gap between the rich and poor during the time period and its relative implications on society. All the dates, events and characters are based on historical fact, except for Che the narrator. This gives the movie a pseudo-realism that is unique from other musicals. As an educational film, Evita could be very helpful in depicting the events surrounding Peron's rise to power, as long as one notes the biases and alleged inconsistencies ahead of time.

From an entertainment perspective, Evita is thoroughly enjoyable. Antonio Banderas in particular, does a fabulous job in his role of Che. Madonna, in the role she was "born to play", is spotty at times, but on the whole is very commendable. The music, already famous from the play, is well incorporated into the movie and generally well sang by the cast. The simple cinematography allows the movie to progress very smoothly and incorporate Che in scenes the play never could. The story is widely held as a classic and is quite entertaining. Evita's realism allows viewers to associate themselves with aspects of Evita or any of the other characters lives, while the music makes the movie easy to follow and family friendly.

Clearly Evita is worth watching as it is both entertaining and educational, a rare combination. Although, one must be preemptively warned that the movie has been criticized from a historical viewpoint as being unfairly negative toward Evita. The movie also portrays the many charitable and positive actions lead by Evita. The movie makes no claims to be entirely historically accurate, and subsequently must be understood as entertainment first, and history second. Still, the movie provides a strong background in Argentine history and politics that are relevant even today. On a scale of one to ten I would rate the movie a nine for entertainment and a seven for historical accuracy.

Surely Madonna was made for this role, that of Eva Duarte de Peron, a young girl from the country who rises to the top with a combination of brains, wits, political savvy and sexuality. Sure she used men to attain her dreams, but what was a girl to do in 1930s-40s Argentina? Antonio Banderas is superb as Che, the "narrator" critic, perhaps the soul of the Argentinian peasants. Banderas' background is stage musicals, and he matches Madonna in every way. Jonathan Pryce is also excellent in his role as the dictator who rises to power only with the talents of Eva. This is not your ordinary musical. Almost every word is sung, as in opera, and the whole thing works. Andrew Lloyd Webber proves himself again a master tunesmith. Besides "Don't cry for me Argentina," all the other songs (if you can call them that) are beautiful, ranging from sweet ballads to waltz and rock. The film is lavish in breadth and depth, with thousands of extras just like the old Hollywood spectaculars. No f/x here, but real people. The cinematography is also superb. This is truly a triumph, a glorious experience, totally unique in film. Highly recommended. *****

"Evita" is an opera, albeit a rock opera, in the true sense of the word -- there can't be fifty words of spoken dialogue in the entire movie. Music drama is a highly stylized form, which admittedly is not everyone's cup of tea. Perhaps that is why the overall rating given the film by IMDb voters, 6.3 out of 10, is as low as it is. To those of us who like the operatic form, though, this is an outstanding film, beautiful to look at, well acted, and most importantly well sung. The only weakness I found was the one that inheres in every Andrew Lloyd Webber piece: too much recycling of too few musical themes over two-plus hours. Nevertheless, Tim Rice's lyrics are wonderful, they are consistently inventive and drive the story. Madonna was good in the title role but Antonio Banderas's performance as Ché was great, both dramatically and musically. "Evita" is highly recommended, 8 out of 10.

As a person who is not a big fan of movie musicals, I was thoroughly impressed by the magnificent performance of Madonna playing the title role and singing the immortal hit "Don't cry for me Argentina." Jonathan Pryce and Antonio Banderas were also spectacular in their respective roles.(p)

Andrew Lloyd Weber's musical genius is captured in this touching and historic portrayal of the life of Argentine First Lady Eva Peron. A peasant girl who used her charms and elegance as an aspiring entertainer and rises to become the wife of Argentina's most powerful politician is sequentially presented with song and dance that only a masterful musical producer such as Weber could create.(p)

I highly recommend this movie to anyone interested in learning about the life of an important poltical figure of the twentieth century and being delightfully entertained at the same.