About Angela Wilson
Location: Midwest
Occupation: Web Producer/Freelance Writer
Bio: I love to read - and write - and surf. My FAV genres include mysteries, romantic suspense and thrillers. I'm finally working on my own thriller (under a pen name) and writing a book on marketing/PR for authors. I blog about writing at www.wickedwordsmith.com, and have accounts on various sites. You can find me on MySpace, Facebook and more by visiting www.angelawilson.net.
Posts: 338
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In 1981, French filmmaker Jean-Jacues Beineix released a stunning thriller that teased the senses and put audiences on the edge of their seats in a way that had not happened since Hitchcock. Now, nearly three decades later, Diva still holds audiences captive with its stunning cinematography, whiplash dialogue and a plot with more unexpected twists than a spy movie.
Jules, a young, naïve postal worker, is obsessed with reclusive opera singer who refuses to be recorded. As he tries to cultivate a relationship with the diva, he encounters murder, intrigue, Taiwanese bootleggers intent on capturing her voice for reproduction and an international prostitution ring. These outside storylines weave an insidious poison around Jules and the singer as they try to focus on each other and their love of opera.
I was intrigued when I read up on Diva before watching. I knew it was hailed as a legendary cult thriller, but I had expected its age to show. After all, technology has advanced – and so has our craving of intensity in thriller films.
But Diva blew me away with its incredible story and sets. The camera angles ratcheted the intensity in a way that movie audiences had never seen in 1980s – and still don’t often see in the watered-down conglomeration of films today. Beineix showed incredible primal instinct as he pieced together this story. It blew me away.
American soprano Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez plays the recluse singer with ease, and her passion for her craft and protecting it again reproduction adds a personal element to suspenseful story. In all of film history, Diva was the first to truly tap into the mystery surrounding opera, and the stunning music, singing and orchestra sets added elegance to an otherwise dreary set.
A widescreen special edition of Diva was released on DVD this summer. It includes interviews with brainchild Beineix, cast and crew. The best ones to watch are those with actors Anny Romand and Dominique Pinon (who is featured in many French and American films), and the two-part series with Beineix (but be warned that Beineix are lengthy). I love the way the filmmaker discusses how hard it was to get people to buy into the film, and how it flopped the first time in French theaters. He is passionate about this film, which was a tough sell because it was so different, and so far ahead of its time.
The actors flesh out what happened on the set. An interview with Frederic Andrei (Jules), who is now a director, is also fascinating. He discusses how he learned from Beineix to fight for what makes you passionate. That lesson has made Andrei a great filmmaker himself today.
Fans of thrillers must have this cult classic for their shelves. It is an excellent gift idea, and the extras are worth a look.
