Diva

"Her voice was his calling."

1981 1h 57m FR

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 280

ActionDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Jules, a young Parisian postman, secretly records a concert performance given by the opera singer Cynthia Hawkins, whom he idolises. The following day, Jules runs into a woman who is being pursued by armed thugs. Before she is killed, the woman slips an audio cassette into his mail bag...

“Her voice was his calling.”

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Cast

Frédéric Andréi
Jules
Richard Bohringer
Gorodish
Roland Bertin
Weinstadt
Wilhelmenia Fernandez
Cynthia Hawkins
Thuy An Luu
Alba
Chantal Deruaz
Nadia
Anny Romand
Paula
Dominique Pinon
Le curé

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix
Writers: Jean Van Hamme, Jean-Jacques Beineix
Languages: English, French, Italian
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, shot by Philippe Rousselot. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Vladimir Cosma. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Monique Prim shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Frédéric Andréi and Richard Bohringer and Roland Bertin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Her voice was his calling.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0082269 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jean-Jacques Beineix directs. Philippe Rousselot behind the camera. Vladimir Cosma scores. Monique Prim cuts. Produced in France. Dialogue in English, French, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

145 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Italian.
3Directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, shot by Philippe Rousselot. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Vladimir Cosma. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Monique Prim shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Frédéric Andréi and Richard Bohringer and Roland Bertin carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Her voice was his calling.".
8IMDB entry: tt0082269 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 11 themes, including "paris, france", "mistake in person", "subway", "diva".

The technical file

Cinematography: Philippe Rousselot
Original score: Vladimir Cosma
Editing: Monique Prim
Production design: Hilton McConnico
Costume design: Hilton McConnico
Makeup / hair: Judith Gayo
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Status: Released
Box office: $2,925,889
Original language: FR
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Diva (1981)

Awards

César Award for Best First Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Jean-Jacques Beineix

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-08-16
★ 9/10
This was outstanding. Opera could very much be a metaphor for film to me, and the great way that opera dominates the life of addict Jules here could easily apply to me in my approach to film, and ANY remarkable actress of today. For example, if I could travel back in time, I would easily have felt this way about Garbo, who is my favourite actress ever... Probably the best thing Luc Besson ever laid his hands on...
JPV8522020-12-05
★ 7/10
Despite the ridiculous premise, namely the idea of Taiwanese gangster trying to get a hold of a bootleg recording of an opera singer (to blackmail her to signing a contract with them), the movie is better than I thought it would be going in. There are a couple big downsides that keeps me from giving it a higher rating. One is that this opera singer (Cynthia) finds solace with a young postman (Jules) who is pretty much a stalker (who stole her dress after a performance). The other bigger issue, is one dubious hero is a child predator who has a girl, easily only 13-14 years old, living with him. They don't explicitly show a sexual relationship but it's implied. I know this is France in the early 80s, just made me uncomfortable. Still, some decent scenes, one a chase through Paris and the Metro, that makes it worthwhile and oddly, the relationship between Jules and Cynthia still works in spite of how they meet. Also noteworthy is the beautiful cinematography, some wonderful images. 3.5/5
Filipe Manuel Neto2024-03-14
★ 6/10
A very experimental film in terms of visuals and aesthetics, but one that disappoints us due to the poor conception of the characters and the lack of harmonization of the plot. This film harmoniously brings together two arts that I greatly value: cinema, of course, and opera, which for me is the most complete, challenging and versatile stage art that exists. Although the film is not about opera and is far from perfect, it is delightful to hear Wilhelmenia Fernandez's melodious voice. Unfortunately, the script could have been better: there are a number of rough edges that should have been polished. Jean-Jacques Beineix gives us a stylized work, with notes of artistic quality, however, the story he tells us has problems: it all starts with a fan's curious obsession with his favorite opera singer. After stealing the dress she wore during a recital, he becomes friends with a young Vietnamese woman who steals records from a music store. Shortly afterwards, their paths cross with a group of dangerous killers who claim victims in public, disguised as police officers. After some more time, the opera singer finally meets her obsessed fan and becomes friends with him. That is, what we have are two subplots that try to intertwine into a single story. The problem is that the union doesn't work out very well: they are too different and both want the same type of attention and protagonism. It doesn't work! With the exception of the opera singer, the characters are uninteresting, unsympathetic or underdeveloped, and there is no logic in the way they move and the decisions they make (not even the singer, who is suddenly unaware of the fact that her voice has been finally recorded – something she didn't allow and hated – and starts to feel incredible about having an obsessive fan behind her). What's good about this film? The look and aesthetics. The cinematography is quite skillful in experimenting with light, shadow and framing, and there is some originality in the way the editing and editing were done. I really liked the work developed by Wilhelmeina Fernandez, as I said, but I also think that Frédéric Andréi tried his best to rise to the challenge he faced, even with weak material and a virtual absence of charisma. However, the rest of the cast is disappointing. Just a note of curiosity: it was the first film by Dominique Pinon, a French actor who would become one of the best of his generation.