Diva

This was outstanding. Opera could very much be a metaphor for film to me, and the great way that opera dominates the life of addict Jules here could easily apply to me in my approach to film, and ANY remarkable actress of today. For example, if I could travel back in time, I would easily have felt this way about Garbo, who is my favourite actress ever... Probably the best thing Luc Besson ever laid his hands on...

Despite the ridiculous premise, namely the idea of Taiwanese gangster trying to get a hold of a bootleg recording of an opera singer (to blackmail her to signing a contract with them), the movie is better than I thought it would be going in. There are a couple big downsides that keeps me from giving it a higher rating. One is that this opera singer (Cynthia) finds solace with a young postman (Jules) who is pretty much a stalker (who stole her dress after a performance). The other bigger issue, is one dubious hero is a child predator who has a girl, easily only 13-14 years old, living with him. They don't explicitly show a sexual relationship but it's implied. I know this is France in the early 80s, just made me uncomfortable. Still, some decent scenes, one a chase through Paris and the Metro, that makes it worthwhile and oddly, the relationship between Jules and Cynthia still works in spite of how they meet. Also noteworthy is the beautiful cinematography, some wonderful images. **3.5/5**