Diva

Beineix made his name with this intelligent slick French thriller, set in a highly stylised Paris. He blends noiresque cityscapes and idiosyncratic characters into a gripping story which constantly throws us as much as it throws the characters themselves. With a wild blend of red herrings, Macguffins, coincidences and cases of mistaken identity, the thriller's intricately-structured plotline continually holds the attention - nothing can be taken for granted in Diva's convoluted world of tricks and surprises.

Jules is a postman and devoted fan of Cynthia Hawkins, a renowned opera singer who refuses to record any of her singing. A technically perfect recording of one of Cynthia's concerts made by Jules for himself falls into the hands of members of a Korean record company who threaten to pirate it unless Cynthia signs exclusively for them. At the same time a tape of revelations about a police commissioner's scandalous dealings is dropped into Jules' moped bag, and he starts to get pursued by two dirty cops working for the commissioner The relationship that gradually develops between Jules and Cynthia is oddly touching,and becomes the fulcrum of all the action around them.

Diva is a stunning film - one to challenge all detractors of modem French cinema. A model of pacing, it is remarkable how a film with such a complicated plot survives without resorting to the usual damagingly excessive baggage of exposition. The action gets increasingly frenetic, but always under control, with several thrilling sequences, the stand-out being the amazing chase in the Pans Metro. Its urban stylisation and reliance on the unpredictable plottwist bear comparison with Neil Jordan's later Mona Lisa and The Crying Game, but Diva retains its uniquely Parisian feel among the blue back-lighting and wet streets. The film is very much like its operatic title, it performs beautifully and occasionally hits notes others would only dream of.

Review by Mark Radice
Taken from EUFS Programme 1994-95