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The Car Man, the latest dance version of Carmen, comes courtesy of choreographer Matthew Bourne, who has devised his own scenario of Bizet's opera set in a garage-diner in the American midwest, circa 1960. This film treatment details all the excitement of the live performance at London's Old Vic, which capped a 2000 U.K. tour. The cinematography assists in capturing the atmosphere of Bourne's treatment--film noir with allusions to Hitchcock--through employment of chiaroscuro. The use of the split-screen technique also enhances the cinematic feel. The music sounds seductive and full-bodied, befitting the new story line (Bourne calls it an "auto-erotic thriller") in which an enigmatic stranger, Luca, walks into town seducing both Lana (Carmen) and Angelo (Don Jose). A swarthy individual, Luca looks an unlikely dancer until his first solo galvanizes the company. The single stage set adapts into eight different permutations, taking us from diner through nightclub and prison and then out on the road in a cinematic finale where the Chevrolet cars of the period are destroyed in a pile-up. The period look is further enhanced with the girls in tight-waisted frocks and the men in Brando-esque T-shirts and jeans. The dance ensembles are an extraordinarily versatile group: classical, jazz, modern, and flamenco seem natural expressions of their body movements. Will Kemp deserves a special mention for his sensitive portrayal of Angelo. --Adrian Edwards
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