Diva

Jules, a postman, secretly records a concert by Cynthia Hawkins, an American soprano who refuses to be recorded. His bootleg attracts both record pirates and people chasing an entirely different crime; two tapes get mixed up and Jules is hunted. The film is not interested in thriller mechanics. It is interested in worship: Jules wants to possess the woman's voice and has no idea what to do when he meets her. Its best scene is not a chase but the two of them walking quietly through a Paris morning. The form gave a movement its name. Because of colours close to advertising, empty spaces and the use of music, the term cinéma du look entered circulation with this film. Its release was a disaster. The producers were unhappy with the result and did not know how to sell it, so Diva came and went in a handful of French cinemas while most critics attacked the look as commercial. Then it screened at the Toronto festival, the interest from there got it re-released in a single French cinema, and after winning four awards at the 1982 Césars it finally got a proper distribution at home. Jean-Jacques Beineix directed. Frédéric Andréi plays Jules and Richard Bohringer the enigmatic Gorodish. Who it is for: viewers who love eighties visual cinema, the atmosphere of Paris and genre blends. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a coherent thriller. The plot is thin and the film covers it with style.