Maria 4K 2024

Opera is one of the most beautiful and valuable art forms, and its performers and the power of their talent cannot be underestimated. One of them (one might say the greatest) was Maria Callas, a singer of Greek-American descent who, in the middle of the last century, took opera performance to a whole new level. She is also the heroine of Pablo Larraín's new movie in his triptych trilogy about famous women who had a huge impact on cultural, social and political life, who were trendsetters, who were adored all over the world, and.... who were infinitely unhappy in their personal lives.

1977. Maria Callas, once the greatest opera singer the world has ever known, now lives as a recluse in Paris in a huge apartment filled with theater props, marble busts, a vast closet and other knick-knacks. She is cared for by two servants - butler Feruccio and housekeeper Bruna, who fulfill the sometimes bizarre requests of the former diva, trying to monitor her health, make many compliments to her talent and control her addiction to pills. Callas herself realizes that taking the pills causes her visions, but she doesn't seem to mind them at all. Walking around Paris, reminiscing about her stage career and turbulent personal life, and visiting her accompanist at the theater, Maria Callas tries to recover her lost voice and regain what she should live for....

The film is not a biopic in the traditional sense of the word: Maria Callas' biography is briefly and summarized here. Here are her roles in Norma, Puritans, Medea, Madame Butterfly, here is her childhood in occupied Greece, and here is her acquaintance with the main love of her life - Aristotle Onassis. The action is centered on the last days of the once great singer's life, on her reflection on the past years, on her bygone glory and lost voice, and most importantly, on her emotional state, in which she indulges in her visions, her imaginary interlocutors with whom she can share her memories, thoughts and heartache again and again. And the whole thing is steeped in the atmosphere of opera productions - which makes the movie aesthetically beautiful. After all, such a leisurely and languid movie should be beautiful - so that the audience has enough time to enjoy the beauty of autumn Paris, on which the main character walks leisurely, or to admire the delightful costumes, where one can observe both fantastic stage outfits and luxurious fur coats, lush dresses and jewelry inspired by the style (and some straight from the closet) of Callas herself (Massimo Cantini Parrini's Oscar nomination for costumes will be well deserved). And, most importantly, listen to the famous arias Casta diva, O mio babbino caro, Vissi d'arte, Sempre libera, Piangete voi, Ave Maria, which complete this exquisite and sublime image of the world of the great opera diva.

In such a movie, where there is not much action, plot twists and surprises, everything rests mostly on the acting. And the choice of Angelina Jolie for the role of Maria Callas was decisive. Despite the fact that her performance did not leave a clear impression on many people (some argued that she was overplaying), I personally was delighted with her portrayal of Maria. In my opinion she literally dissolved in the role - in my opinion this is a sign of the highest skill (when an actor makes you forget that he plays this role, and practically becomes the one he plays, letting this role through himself, living this life together with his hero). Maria Callas, played by Jolie, appears to us at the end of her life: the days of her brilliant performances are in the past, her voice does not have the same power as before, she lives a reclusive life, but Maria still needs the adoration of the public, she needs the compliments of enthusiastic admirers (even if they do not know much about opera) and she especially lacks love, so she indulges in her visions, in which she sees her deceased lover and a young journalist who gradually falls in love with her.... Maria's tragedy here lies in the fact that although she has left the stage, she cannot leave it: musical arias are playing in her head, chorus singers are seen, and the orchestra is playing outside in the rain, waiting for the diva to start singing.... It's no wonder why Maria is so eager to restore her voice - even though she surely realizes that it won't be the same. Still, she won't give up trying and will eventually sing her major aria...

Maria is a mesmerizing movie, slow and dragging, but surprisingly beautiful. It is worth watching not for the sake of authentic facts about the life of the great opera singer, but for the aesthetic pleasure of Jolie's splendid acting, marvelous atmosphere, enchanting music and the great voice of the Divine Callas.