Carmen

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.

I wanted to like this.

I have an abiding interest in South Africa, I like "Carmen", and this seemed like a great idea, however in the event I found myself getting bored about halfway through.

A few of the problems:-

Carmen weighed about 200lbs. I know different cultures have different concepts of beauty, but frankly when you're up against Dorothy Dandridge's spectacular turn in "Carmen Jones" you have to raise your game a little.

I didn't buy any of the characters' attraction to each other. Carmen displayed almost no interest in Jongikhaya, or indeed in the 'Escamillo' character (here a singer rather than a bullfighter or a boxer). Jongikhaya didn't seem particularly interested in Carmen either. OK, sex is more of a private matter in Africa and public displays of affection are more subdued, but there was no discernible chemistry at all here.

Also, the Toreador song has been inexplicably cut out of the film (except for a brief excerpt towards the end). This is one of the high points of the opera, a major plot pivot, and the actor had a great voice, so this was triply baffling.

The camera-work and mise en scene also suffered badly in comparison to the grace and originality of Preminger's movie.

On the positive side, the singing was good, the township locations gritty, realistic and entirely in keeping with the spirit of the opera, and the story was augmented with flashbacks giving some characters a depth absent from the original (and injecting a bit of politics).

I'd like to see how this went down in Khayalitsha (apparently it was premiered in the sports hall where the film climaxes). You have to assume a Xhosa audience will see a lot a European would miss. Ironically most cinemas in the townships show Hollywood movies rather than anything produced locally. Hopefully films like this will begin to change that.

U-Carmen eKhayelitsha (2005) is a South African movie co-written and directed by Mark Dornford-May. It's in partly in English and partly in the indigenous language Xhosa.

The film follows the plot of the opera. It's fascinating to move the film from 19th Century Spain to 21st Century South Africa, but it works.

In the same way, Pauline Malefane, in the title role, doesn't look the way we unconsciously assume Carmen will look. (Think of Maria Callas or Elina Garanca in the opera.)

Malefane is a robust, strong woman who plays the role well. It just took a few moments for me to realize that she is, indeed Carmen, and she looks just great for the part.

We saw this movie on the large screen, but it will work well enough on a smaller screen. I recommend it.

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.

How can I watch it? saw it years back loved it and want to share