Though described as Millepied's take on Bizet's opera of the same name,[4][5] it is "a complete re-imagining" that ignores the opera's plot and setting; all that remains are "selected lyrics" from the opera's libretto sung in the original French by a choir as background to one scene between the two leads.[6] The film features an original score composed by Nicholas Britell with songs written and composed by Brittell, Taura Stinson, Julieta Venegas and Curry.[7]
In May 2017, Benjamin Millepied was set to make his feature film directorial debut with the film version of Carmen for Chapter 2, originally conceived as "a modern-day reimagining of one of the world's most celebrated operas".[4] Once completed, Millepied recognized his film was less an adaptation than "a version of Bizet's tragedy from a parallel universe".[8] Loïc Barrère [fr] and Millepied will write the script. In May 2019, Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights for the film and Nilo Cruz would write the script.[9] In November 2020, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. was revealed to have co-written the script with Millepied and Loïc Barrère.[10]
The film was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on 11 July 2023.[16]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 62% of 98 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Benjamin Millepied reinvents Prosper Mérimée's tragic novella as a dance extravaganza full of sound and fury signifying a hollow emotional core, although the ravishing style is a treat onto itself."[17]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 59 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[18]
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