Genres

Visitors Review

jzpresto 2012-05-25 17:09:45

Don Giovanni meets Silicon Valley

I doubt that "Juan" will win many new converts to opera, but it's greatfun for the already converted, an ingenious attempt (mostly successful)to update Mozart's opera to the smart-set of Budapest — people who fallhopelessly in love and thrive on delusion using cell phones, TVmonitors, video cams and Mac laptops. Frankly, I wouldn't wish Italian opera sung in English on my worstenemy; I would have preferred a "Juan" sung in Italian, but I guessEnglish is the world language of update. One aspect of the film I didnot enjoy was the English subtitles: why use them when everyone sangloud and clear? For me the best singer was Mikhail Petrenko (Leporello)followed by Christopher Maltman as Juan who looks sexy enough toconquer 1003 women in Spain.Leporello's aria "One thousand and three" blew me away: his use of aMac laptop and Mac software to display Juan's conquests is utterlybrilliant.

sarastro7 2012-05-25 07:20:27

Not impressed...

I am not terribly familiar with Don Giovanni (although I know some ofthe tunes), which may be part of the reason that "Juan" did not impressme. I'll admit the live voices gave the film an admirable authenticity,and several of the main actors were very good (esp. Juan himself), butbesides this I only have criticisms.Any modern, present-day setting of a classic opera is a huge gamble. Itworks when the director really knows what he's doing and has theartistic chops to pull it off, but sadly this one doesn't quite. Heseems more interested in the modernized staging than in emphasizing themusic. And most catastrophically, he introduces profanity into one ofthe highest human art forms. It then becomes a tasteless pandering toan extremely low common denominator, bordering on reality-TV. Perhapsit is an attempt to attract new audiences, but personally I find itwrongheaded. High art is about beauty and truth, and base profanitybelongs in the gutter; it is not worth preserving for posterity in afull-scale original film production. I know many will find my viewpuritanical, but for me it's a question of beauty over ugliness.Profanity promotes and maintains negative emotions and has nonoteworthy redeeming qualities. It certainly does not belong in opera.Even at 105 minutes, I found this very altered and abridged versionlong enough to be tiresome, and I have no desire to watch it again.My rating: 6 stars out of 10.