Carmen (1926) - film review

Having killed a man in a duel, Don José Lizzarabengoa is forced to flee his home in Navarre.  Arriving in Castille, he enlists in the army and soon becomes a sergeant in the regiment at Almanza.  It is here that his life takes an even more dramatic turn, when he encounters a Spanish gypsy girl named Carmen.  When he allows the girl to escape after she has been arrested for causing a brawl in the cigarette factory where she works, Don José is demoted.  Later, after killing an officer in a fight, he takes refuge in the mountains, joining up with a band of smugglers who are known to Carmen.  Don José now realises that he is infatuated with the gypsy girl, but then discovers she is already married and is planning to help her husband, "le Borgne", the former leader of the band of smugglers, to escape from prison...

Thanks largely to the enduring popularity of Bizet’s opera, the story of Carmen is one of the most well-known in western culture. Prosper Mérimée’s novel has inspired no less than 70 film adaptations, of which Jacques Feyder’s epic 1926 silent film is one of the most significant.

In comparison to many of his contemporaries, Feyder rigorously avoids experimental photography and adopts what is nearly a neo-realist style of cinematography.  Most of the film was shot on location, with some beautiful camera work which makes this a visual feast from start to finish.   The film has the scale and detail of the kind of period drama which French cinema would be best known for in subsequent decades.  Certainly, the film has some impressive set pieces, including some well-choreographed fight scenes and, best of all, the gripping bull-fighting scene at the end of the film.

© James Travers 2002

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