This 40th anniversary presentation showcases Carlos Saura's biggest international box-office success with this self-reflexive meditation on both Bizet's popular opera Carmen and the original novella by Prosper Mérimée. Legendary dancer Antonio Gades plays a choreographer who becomes involved with the production’s lead dancer Carmen (played by Laura del Sol) and grows dangerously jealous. Depicting the ups and downs of their affair in between rehearsals for Gades's ballet, Carmen is a visually hypnotic hall of mirrors in which the dancers become inseparable from their personas.
Notable for innovative choreography, which blends traditional flamenco dancing with contemporary dance styles. It also features several famous flamenco musicians, including guitarist Paco de Lucía and singer José Menese.
A critical and commercial success upon its release, winning numerous awards including the BAFTA for Best Foreign Language Film. Carmen is widely regarded as one of the greatest dance films ever made and remains a classic of Spanish cinema offering a vibrant, emotional hymn to rhythm, dance, cinema and the very nature of the human heart.
WINNER – Best Foreign Language Film, BAFTA Awards 1985
WINNER – Best Artistic Contribution, Technical Grand Prize, Cannes Film Festival 1983
NOMINEE – Best Foreign Language Film, Academy Awards 1984
NOMINEE – Best Foreign Film, Golden Globes 1984
NOMINEE – Palm d’Or, Cannes Film Festival 1983
"Carmen is both a new kind of musical and marvellous cinema."
- Time Out
Wednesday 14th June
102 min
M
Paco de Lucía, Antonio Gades, Laura del Sol
Carlos Saura
Film Festival
Spanish with English subtitles
Palace Norton St, Palace Verona, Palace Central Sydney
