Diva
Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix
Year Released: 1981
Rating: 2.0
A very un-engaging postal delivery kid makes a bootleg copy of an opera singer's performance - who staunchly refuses to be recorded (the movie can be read as a statement about the sanctity of art) - and gets mixed up in some prostitution-ring conspiracy. Doesn't seem to know whether it wants to be a drama or a crime thriller, and spends time in both genres - chases follow slow, pensive moments and gunplay accompanies attempts at romance between the smitten postal worker and the title character. An odd artist character from Vietnam - whose function in the movie isn't exactly clear - is given lines of dialogue that are so loopy and deranged that even Yoko Ono would cringe. The use of color is delicious, however.
