Maria Callas: Book me a table at a café where the waiters know who I am
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Maria Callas, the world’s greatest opera singer, experiences the final days of her life in 1970s Paris as she confronts her identity and her life. Angelina Jolie and director Pablo Larraín discuss how they connected to the heartbreaking true story of world-renowned opera singer Maria Callas. The third and final film in Pablo Larraín’s so-called "Lady with Heels" trilogy of female-led biopics following Jackie (2016) and Spencer (2021)..
I’m in the mood for admiration
Mentioned in Close-Up: Why Do We Need a Venice Film Festival? (2024). Otello Act 4: ‘Ave Maria’ (Desdemona) Performed by Maria Callas, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire Conductor: Nicola Rescigno Written by Giuseppe Verdi, Arrigo Boito Released by Warner Classics, (p) 1964 Recorded by Parlophone Records2014 Limited Warner Limited Music Group Germany Holding GmbH, a Warner Music Group company.
I have to say that director Pablo Larrain’s 2024 entry into his iconic trilogy of 20th-century women was a disappointment
It starts with the casting, as Angelina Jolie may be too iconic herself to play the ultimate diva Maria Callas, who is the least memorable of the trio, the other two being "Jackie" (2016) and Diana in "Spencer" (2021). Jolie conveys the necessary self-control to carry off the regal image of the world’s greatest opera singer, but she’s physically too skeletal to convincingly emulate the more robust figure that Callas struck. The sad, drawn-out film, written by Steven Knight, covers the last week of Callas’s life in Paris in 1977, a fictional story with inevitable flashbacks that cumulatively unfolds like a ghost story.
Her reclusive existence is enriched only by two devoted servants, movingly portrayed by Pierfrancesco Favina and Alba Rohrwacher
All the production elements, like the polished cinematography and set details, are impressively handled, but Larrain’s creative choices are more questionable, like the hallucinogenic imagery of choirs of people singing to her in public spaces. There’s the ambiguous role of an interviewer (played inexplicably by Kodi Smit-McPhee) with the same name as her prescription medication, who forces her to confront her heritage. Some flashbacks signal the more compelling elements of her story, like her relatively early relationship with Aristotle Onassis, her traumatic encounters with Nazis as a child, and her riveting interview with JFK (played by Caspar Phillipson in the same, somewhat insignificant role in “Jackie”).
Still, Jolie’s star power is on display, befitting her unique talent for conveying arrogance and vulnerability almost simultaneously
No need to waste time endlessly scrolling — here’s a whole slew of new movies and TV shows streaming on Netflix this month.