Diva (1981)

96% of critics liked it
(45 reviews)
86% of users liked it
(5,924 ratings)

The diva of the title is a famous black opera singer (Wilhelmina Wiggins-Fernandez) who steadfastly refuses to be recorded. The singer is idolized by young French mail-carrier Jules (Frederic Andrei), who sneaks a tape recorder into the theater and records her performance. This is witnessed by a… More The diva of the title is a famous black opera singer (Wilhelmina Wiggins-Fernandez) who steadfastly refuses to be recorded. The singer is idolized by young French mail-carrier Jules (Frederic Andrei), who sneaks a tape recorder into the theater and records her performance. This is witnessed by a pair of Taiwanese criminals, who unlike Andrei wish to profit from the bootlegged recording. They begin to pursue the boy, as do a couple of home-grown hooligans who believe that Jules is in possession of some murder evidence. The serpentine plot leads to a warm friendship between Jules and the reclusive diva - and to a brilliantly photographed (by Philipe Rousselot) motorcycle chase through the subway tunnels of Paris. Diva marked the directorial debut of Jean-Jacques Beineix, whose obvious fondness for the more esoteric techniques of the Nouvelle Vague never impedes his willingness to simply entertain his audiences. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 3 min.
Directed By: Jean-Jacques Beineix
Written By: Jean-Jacques Beineix
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Mar 11, 1981 Wide
On DVD: Oct 28, 1997
Studio: Rialto Pictures

Critic Reviews

Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune
The movie's a maelstrom of possibilities touching ethnic relations, high art, fashion and modern morality, not to mention cinema.
Ty Burr, Boston Globe
As with so many pop moments a quarter-century on, what once looked sexy now smells a little sexist.
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post
Diva, as a lifestyle, a fantasy, a model for alienation and solipsism and eccentricity, has gone deep into all of us.
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
A light-headed, fleet-footed French caper, Jean-Jacques Beineix's ultra-stylish Diva stormed the art houses when it was released in 1982, and it's still a lot of fun now -- though its hip patina feels more quaint these days than cool.
Leba Hertz, San Francisco Chronicle
I still loved every minute of it.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
Made with wit and humor, this French stunner abounds in the go-for-broke spirit of a first film made by a talented, nervy director.
Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
A topsy-turvy wonderland of stylistic riffs and thematic threads reverberating back on themselves for the sheer, exuberant, sexy hell of it.
Bill Gibron, PopMatters
Diva still delivers a great deal of pleasure within its now noticeable knottiness, and the performances are excellent and quite accomplished.
Richard Knight, Windy City Times
Director Jean Jacques-Beineix's pop art pastiche is a glittering mix of artifice and genuine cool with its intricate yet effortless thriller plot enacted by some of the screen's most individual and eccentric characters; its combination of playful sexiness
Beverly Berning, culturevulture.net
Jean-Jacques Beniex's bold experiment is worth a place of importance in cinematic history.
Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews
...back upon its original 1981 release, it was a true 'wow,' a filmic equivalent of the post-punk new wave music scene that was current.
David Fear, Time Out New York
An elaborate, subtitled exercise in blowing hot air.
Jeanne Kaplan, Kaplan vs. Kaplan
--- a drama/thriller that is also quite funny ---this is the first film in which I truly realized the importance of cinematography.
David Kaplan, Kaplan vs. Kaplan
The chase through the Paris Metro tunnels is as fascinating as anything put on celluloid.
David Elliott, San Diego Union-Tribune
Had Wile E. Coyote chased Jean-Luc Godard, the result might have been Diva.
Beth Accomando, KPBS.org
Beineix choreographs the actors and the camera into a stunning and stylish cinematic dance... This is not a musical in the strict sense of the word but it certainly feels like one in the way it moves.
Sean Axmaker, Turner Classic Movies Online
... Beineix directs with a visual cleverness and a witty playfulness that tells the audience to hang back and have fun.

Read all 17 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jennifer D

My dad LOVED this. And it was fairly interesting. The last bit was well shot, very pretty and slightly existential.
Elvira B

You won't know what hit you when, halfway through it, the feeling settles in your mind that this movie is really, really good. It's a mad French movie that slowly creeps into your bones as it begins to build insane subplot after subplot on the para-dimensional atmosphere of… More
You won't know what hit you when, halfway through it, the feeling settles in your mind that this movie is really, really good. It's a mad French movie that slowly creeps into your bones as it begins to build insane subplot after subplot on the para-dimensional atmosphere of the Parisian underworld: surrealistic garages vibrating with operatic soundwaves, blue lofts for taking hot baths and doing puzzles, and long walks in the park under the rain... followed by the best chase scene ever. Oh, and the plot involves Taiwanese pirates and an International prostitution network. It is this bizarreness what makes it absolutely classic.
Jonny C

This was the first foreign language movie I seen. I remember as a 12 year old being captivated by the style and cinematography of the director. The story is tense and exciting and the characters are so rich, that they almost pop out of the screen.
Doctor S

'Diva' Hits Too Many Wrong Notes Was I the only one paying attention to the illogical events and implausible situations that occurred in this film and not just watching the pretty pictures? Stylistic camp I'd call it, which came as a big disappointment considering some… More
'Diva' Hits Too Many Wrong Notes Was I the only one paying attention to the illogical events and implausible situations that occurred in this film and not just watching the pretty pictures? Stylistic camp I'd call it, which came as a big disappointment considering some of the lofty reviews it's received. I enjoyed the oddball characters, but the acting is mediocre at best. The bad guys - and there are two factions of them - came & went with Mr. Smith-like omniscience and teleportative abilities. However it was fun to see the short guy from all the Jeunet films in an early role as a gangster who doesn't like anything. Probably not this movie either.

Cast

            Frédéric Andréi as Jules

            Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez as Cynthia Hawkins

            Richard Bohringer as Gorodish

            Thuy An Luu as Alba

            Dominique Pinon as Le CurÃ©

            Jacques Fabbri as Jean Saporta

            Roland Bertin as Weinstadt

            Anny Romand as Paula

            Gérard Darmon as Spic I'Antillais

            Raymond Aquilon
            
            Nathalie Dalyan
            
            Chantal Deruaz as Nadia

            Etienne Draber
            
            Patrick Floersheim as Zapotek

            Nane Germon
            
            Brigitte Lahaie
            
            Jean-Jacques Moreau as Krantz

            Jean-Luc Porraz
            
            Bernard Robin
            
            Jean-Louis Vitrac
            
            Eugène Berthier
            
            Laure Duthilleul
            
            Gabriel Gobin
            
            Isabelle Mergault
            
            Thuy Ann Luu
            
            Yann Roussel
            
See full cast