Mythos Oper: Carmen
- 2017
- 43m
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Narrowly scoped and lacking depth
Reading the French title (Le mythe de Carmen/The myth of Carmen), I expected a documentary that would tell me about the origin of Carmen, the genesis of the myth, the influence it had in the arts from the 19th century until now, an academic analysis of a myth like what could be done for ancient-Greece myths, with literature researchers, historians, musicologist, etc. that would share their meaningful knowledge of the iconic character. There are many such well-made documentaries about art and Carmen sure deserved one. Well, I was disappointed.
The German title is more accurate: this is nothing but the episode in a series of documentary about mythic operas that hapens to be dedicated to Bizet's Carmen. But, even then, one could expect to have a throrough review of the history of this opera, its genesis, the history of its staging from the first performance until today, the controversy of its first performance. Well, I was disappointed again: this is a documentary about a single performance of the opera, more or less, with interviews of a few singers, one musician, and the director-as well as a pathetic act by an actress that tries to embody Carmen between the different chapters.
The points of view of performers can be interesting but, from a scholar perspective, they lack depth and offer a subjective and rather naive analysis of the personality of Carmen. I personally learned nothing from the opinions expressed by the performers and the director. They appeared uninformed and amateurish. If I were a bit cynical, I'd say that the documentary could have featured Donald Trump giving his enlightened opinion of Carmen. Being famous is not enough to be able to provide an insight into a wide and subtle topic.
Finally, I can even say that I found the depiction of Carmen particularly vulgar in the different scenes shown in the documentary. Carmen was no lady but it is way too easy to turn her into a woman in heat living in an ugly and dirty environment, among vulgar men. It is appalling (yet not surprising) that's what the bourgeois Parisian "intellectuals" have come to enjoy. I can't help but believe that Bizet would throw up if he saw what these people made of his opera. But I understand that "il faut de tout pour faire un monde" and that I can't claim I have a better insight into the world of Carmen than everybody else. Still, I believe Carmen is more beautiful, refined and complex than what is shown therein. She deserved better.
The German title is more accurate: this is nothing but the episode in a series of documentary about mythic operas that hapens to be dedicated to Bizet's Carmen. But, even then, one could expect to have a throrough review of the history of this opera, its genesis, the history of its staging from the first performance until today, the controversy of its first performance. Well, I was disappointed again: this is a documentary about a single performance of the opera, more or less, with interviews of a few singers, one musician, and the director-as well as a pathetic act by an actress that tries to embody Carmen between the different chapters.
The points of view of performers can be interesting but, from a scholar perspective, they lack depth and offer a subjective and rather naive analysis of the personality of Carmen. I personally learned nothing from the opinions expressed by the performers and the director. They appeared uninformed and amateurish. If I were a bit cynical, I'd say that the documentary could have featured Donald Trump giving his enlightened opinion of Carmen. Being famous is not enough to be able to provide an insight into a wide and subtle topic.
Finally, I can even say that I found the depiction of Carmen particularly vulgar in the different scenes shown in the documentary. Carmen was no lady but it is way too easy to turn her into a woman in heat living in an ugly and dirty environment, among vulgar men. It is appalling (yet not surprising) that's what the bourgeois Parisian "intellectuals" have come to enjoy. I can't help but believe that Bizet would throw up if he saw what these people made of his opera. But I understand that "il faut de tout pour faire un monde" and that I can't claim I have a better insight into the world of Carmen than everybody else. Still, I believe Carmen is more beautiful, refined and complex than what is shown therein. She deserved better.
helpful•00
- tityron
- Jan 26, 2018
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Le mythe de Carmen
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime43 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 16 : 9
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