Carmen (2022 film)

Film by Benjamin Millepied

Carmen

French theatrical release poster

Directed by| Benjamin Millepied
Screenplay by|

* Alexander Dinelaris Jr.
* Loïc Barrère
* Benjamin Millepied

Story by|

* Benjamin Millepied
* Loïc Barrère

Produced by|

* Mimi Valdès
* Dimitri Rassam
* Rosemary Blight

Starring|

* Melissa Barrera
* Paul Mescal
* Rossy de Palma
* Tracy Curry

Cinematography| Jörg Widmer
Edited by| Dany Cooper
Music by| Nicholas Britell

Production
companies

* Chapter 2
* Goalpost Pictures
* France 2 Cinéma
* Marvelous Productions
* TF1 Studio

Distributed by|

* Madman Films (Australia)
* Pathé Distribution (France)
* Sony Pictures Classics (United States)

Release dates

* 11 September 2022 (2022-09-11) (TIFF)
* 21 April 2023 (2023-04-21) (United States)
* 14 June 2023 (2023-06-14) (France)
* 13 July 2023 (2023-07-13) (Australia)

Running time

| 117 minutes[1]
Countries|

* Australia
* France
* United States[2]

Languages|

* English
* Spanish

Box office| $383,996[3]

Carmen is a 2022 musical drama film directed by Benjamin Millepied in his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by Alexander Dinelaris Jr., Loïc Barrère, and Millepied from a screen story by Millepied and Barrère. The film stars Melissa Barrera, Paul Mescal, Rossy de Palma and Tracy Curry.

Though described as Millepied's take on Bizet's opera of the same name,[4][5] it is "a complete re-imagining" that ignores the opera's plot and setting; all that remains are "selected lyrics" from the opera's libretto sung in the original French by a choir as background to one scene between the two leads.[6] The film features an original score composed by Nicholas Britell with songs written and composed by Britell, Taura Stinson, Julieta Venegas and Curry.[7]

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 2022. It was released in the United States on 21 April 2023 by Sony Pictures Classics, in France on 14 June 2023 by Pathé Distribution, and in Australia on 13 July by Madman Films.

## Premise

[edit]

Carmen flees the Mexican desert, is rescued by Aidan, and together they struggle to evade the authorities as they head for Los Angeles.[7]

## Cast

[edit]

* Melissa Barrera as Carmen
* Paul Mescal as Aidan
* Rossy de Palma as Masilda
* Tracy "The DOC" Curry as Referee
* Nicole da Silva as Julieanne
* Benedict Hardie as Mike
* Elsa Pataky as Gabrielle
* Tara Morice as Marie
* Marina Tamayo II as Zilah
* Zac Drayson as Pete

## Production

[edit]

In May 2017, Benjamin Millepied was set to make his feature film directorial debut with the film version of Carmen for Chapter 2, originally conceived as "a modern-day reimagining of one of the world's most celebrated operas".[4] Once completed, Millepied recognized his film was less an adaptation than "a version of Bizet's tragedy from a parallel universe".[8] Loïc Barrère [fr] and Millepied will write the script. In May 2019, Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights to the film for North and Latin America, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, the CIS and the Middle East, with TF1 Studio selling remaining territories and Nilo Cruz writing the script.[9] In November 2020, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. was revealed to have co-written the script with Millepied and Loïc Barrère.[10]

### Casting

[edit]

In May 2019, it was announced that Melissa Barrera and Jamie Dornan were cast as Carmen and Aidan, respectively.[9] In November 2020, Paul Mescal replaced Dornan and Rossy de Palma was cast in the film.[10]

### Filming

[edit]

Principal photography commenced on 18 January 2021 in Australia with Jörg Widmer as the cinematographer,[10] and wrapped in early March 2021.[11]

## Music

[edit]

Main article: Carmen (soundtrack)

Nicholas Britell composed the score and co-wrote the songs with Julieta Venegas, Taura Stinson and Tracy "The DOC" Curry.[9][10] Lynn Fainchtein served as music producer and music supervisor.

## Release

[edit]

Carmen had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 2022.[7] It had a limited theatrical release in the United States on 21 April 2023 by Sony Pictures Classics,[12] and was released theatrically in France on 14 June 2023 by Pathé Distribution[13][14] and in Australia on 13 July by Madman Films.[15]

The film was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on 11 July 2023.[16]

## Reception

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 60% of 98 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Benjamin Millepied reinvents Prosper Mérimée's tragic novella as a dance extravaganza full of sound and fury signifying a hollow emotional core, although the ravishing style is a treat onto itself."[17] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 59 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[18]

### Accolades

[edit]

Award  | Date of ceremony  | Category  | Recipient(s)  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

Toronto International Film Festival | September 18, 2022 | FIPRESCI Prize  | Carmen | Nominated  | [19]
Miami Film Festival | March 12, 2023  | Jordan Ressler First Feature Award  | Benjamin Millepied | Nominated  | [20]
Hollywood Music in Media Awards | November 15, 2023 | Music Themed Film, Biopic, or Musical  | Carmen | Nominated  | [21]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Carmen (15)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
2. ^ Lodge, Guy (21 April 2023). "Carmen Review: Paul Mescal and Melissa Barrera Lead an Update of the Old Spanish Tragedy That Has Plenty of Fire But No Real Heat". Variety. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
3. ^ "Carmen (2022)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
4. ^ a b Keslassy, Elsa (4 May 2017). "Dimitri Rassam, Helen Estabrook to Produce Benjamin Millepied's Debut Carmen (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
5. ^ Hall, Margaret (2 February 2023). "Modern Film Reimagining of Carmen Starring Paul Mescal and Melissa Barrera to Receive Theatrical Release". Playbill. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
6. ^ Tangcay, Jazz (7 September 2022). "How Filmmaker Benjamin Millepied and Nicholas Britell Used Choirs to Help 'Carmen' Sing". Variety. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
7. ^ a b c "Carmen, Benjamin Millepied". Toronto International Film Festival. 9 September 2022. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
8. ^ Ehrlich, David (11 September 2022). "'Carmen' Review: Lovers on the Run in Benjamin Millepied's Unclassifiable Dance Odyssey". IndieWire. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
9. ^ a b c Keslassy, Elsa (15 May 2019). "Jamie Dornan, Melissa Barrera to Star in Carmen; Sony Pictures Classics Buys Rights (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
10. ^ a b c d Keslassy, Elsa (11 November 2020). " 'Normal People' Star Paul Mescal Joins Melissa Barrera in Benjamin Millepied's Carmen (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
11. ^ "Paul Mescal wraps filming Carmen in Australia". Coup De Main Magazine. 9 March 2021.
12. ^ Lambert, Harper (1 February 2023). "'Carmen' Starring Paul Mescal and Melissa Barrera Gets Theatrical Release". TheWrap. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
13. ^ "Carmen" (in French). Pathé Films. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
14. ^ "Carmen (2020)". Unifrance. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
15. ^ Madman Films [@MadmanFilms] (3 May 2023). "A one-of-a-kind cinematic vision. Melissa Barrera & Paul Mescal star in Carmen. The debut film from @B_Millepied, with a majestic score by @NicholasBritell. Coming to Australian cinemas July 13" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 May 2023 - via Twitter.
16. ^ Dominguez, Noah (10 July 2023). "Carmen Blu-ray & DVD Release Date Set for Melissa Barrera Movie". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
17. ^ "Carmen". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
18. ^ "Carmen". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
19. ^ Zilko, Christian (18 September 2022). "'The Fabelmans' Wins TIFF 2022 People's Choice Award". IndieWire. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
20. ^ Festival, Miami Film (14 March 2023). "MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL 2023 AWARD WINNERS". Miami Film Festival. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
21. ^ Grein, Paul (2 November 2023). "Songs From 'Barbie' Pace 2023 Hollywood Music in Media Awards Nominations (Full List)". Billboard. Retrieved 11 November 2023.

Additional sources

* Sulcas, Roslyn (21 April 2023). "Benjamin Millepied Uses Movement to Reinvent 'Carmen' on Camera". New York Times.

## External links

[edit]

* Carmen at IMDb