Sony Pictures Classics will release Carmen, a complete reimagining of George Bizet’s opera and Prosper Mérimée’s novella of the same name, starring Melissa Barrera, Paul Mescal, Rossy de Palma, The D.O.C., Benedict Hardie, Richard Brancatisano, and Elsa Pataky.
Directed by Benjamin Millepied, making his feature directorial debut, Carmen had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and will be released in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on April 21, 2023 before expanding over the following weeks.
Benjamin Millepied’s Carmen is a gritty modern-day tale, with a majestic score by Britell and dream-like dance sequences that evoke magic realism. The story follows a young and fiercely independent woman who is forced to flee her home in the Mexican desert following the brutal murder of her mother, another strong and mysterious woman. Carmen (Barrera) survives a terrifying and dangerous illegal border crossing into the US, only to be confronted by a lawless volunteer border guard who cold-bloodedly murders two other immigrants in her group. When the border guard and his patrol partner, Aidan (Mescal)—a Marine with PTSD—become embroiled in a deadly standoff, Carmen and Aidan are forced to escape together. They make their way north toward Los Angeles in search of Carmen’s mother’s best friend, the mercurial Masilda (De Palma) and owner of La Sombra nightclub—a sanctuary of music and dance. Carmen and Aidan find both solace and their unwavering love for each other in the safety of Masilda’s magical refuge, but time is running out as the police hunt closes in.