On DVD: U-Carmen

Directed By: Mark Dornford-May

Starring: Pauline Malefane, Andile Tshoni, Lungelwa Blou, Zweilungile Sidloyi, Zamile Gantana

She’s the same girl: spicy and alluring and a cigarette factory worker. It’s the same set up. Heck, it’s the same opera, but the story lives on and is always charmingly fun and intoxicating. Mark Dornford-May’s U-Carmen is Georges Bizet’s Carmen adapted to a South African setting and culture. This version of the classic opera is an Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival. It boasts the Golden Bear award from the Berlin International Film Festival.

The Movie

You don’t have to be familiar with the opera to appreciate U-Carmen; however, I usually like to know the basic idea of a story before seeing it. In U-Carmen Carmen (Pauline Malefine) works at a cigarette factory, where patrolling police officers show up during the first act to try to woo the women working there. Basically Carmen sings that she is available on her own terms. She does, however, throw a rose to Sergeant Jonji (Andile Tshonie), who she now finds attractive.

Carmen’s flirtation makes some of the other women upset and later on a fight breaks out the factory. Carmen ends up stabbing a girl in the face. The police arrive, arrest Carmen, and Sergeant Jonji takes her off to jail. However, Carmen convinces the sergeant to let her go free, a move that will get Jonji in trouble and confined to barracks. Jonji comes back to see Carmen at Bra Nkomo’s (Andries Mbali) bar, where his superior Captain Gantana (Zamile Gantana) shows up to collect sex off of Carmen in exchange for her freedom. Carmen pits the sergeant against the captain by telling him if he loved her he would stay with her and the band of smugglers and tramps. The final conflict arises when Carmen spurns Jonji, a move that makes this romance a tragedy.

Carmen (Pauline Malefine) is alluring, pretty, amorous, but we also wonder if she should come with a warning sign as she tramples on the heart of Jonji (Andile Tshoni) a sergeant in the police. The story of Carmen is a good one to examine gender assumptions and roles as they relate to love. U-Carmen retains this aspect of the story as the men are depicted as ravenous wolves ready for the sex, while the women ragingly sing a song berating the men about how their romantic interests blow away like cigarette smoke.

Carmen, of course, does offer a warning that she does not follow the rules of love. She’s a girl with a reputation (why can’t she get away with just having sex without being thought of as loose?), but she’s a girl who does seem to want love, even if she does spurn Jonji in the end after charming him into loving her.

I think Carmen defies definition and stereotype. She’s a free spirit with an edge, something that Pauline Malefine delicately presents. Pauline takes on a look of being playful and fun, yet hardened and unyielding. She knows how to show just a hint of vulnerability in Carmen’s eyes when we need to see a little softness there. Also, her voice is absolutely majestic and heavenly. Her vibrato is easy, unforced, and elegantly beautiful.

Andile Tshoni also brings a wonderful baritone voice to his character. Tshoni plays Jonji with a hint of shyness while showing Jonji’s inner torment through his quiet-but-something’s-going-on demeanor. Tshoni does a great job with his role as a tormented lover.

The adaptation to South African place and culture lends itself to this story. Also, I think the writing of U-Carmen is brilliant. It follows the original opera, but at the same time the original Xhosa language gets used. Also, I like how scenes of operatic singing take place in the forefront of modern sounds like police radios, cars, and people yelling and talking.

The music is, of course, quite stunning. Perhaps the most famous aria comes from Carmen and is featured in this film version as well. The whole cast sing wonderfully and so if the story doesn’t bewitch you, then at least the music will.

7.5/10

The Video

Presented in widescreen format, the video quality is good. There is no graininess and the colors are vivid and crisp.  For a smaller art house DVD release the quality of the transfer here is surprising. 

8/10

The Audio

The sound is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0. There are no major balance issues as the sound quality does the actors’ voices justice.  During the musical numbers is when the surround environment really gets some use.  The music leaps from all five speakers really creating an immersive environment.

7/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features

The DVD release is packaged in a standard aramay case with simple headshots of characters pasted on a landscape scene from the film—but it remains pleasing just the same.

The DVD release offers several good bonus features such as a making U-Carmen featurette, bonus interviews, and the original trailer (if I can call this one a bonus feature as it is seemingly standard now).

6/10

U-Carmen is a good adaptation of the opera. I found the film gorgeous, nice on the ears, and fun to think about. Overall, I think you get a decent cinematic experience.

Overall (Not an Average) 7/10

The Review

The Movie 7.5/10

The Video 7/10

The Audio 7/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 6/10

Overall (Not an Average) 7/10

-Chuck Knight