Movies I Love, Part I: “Diva”

One guy’s opinion is that the character Gorodish (Richard Bohringer) is the coolest guy in all of film. His self-stated satori is the “art of toast.” He lives in a way cool, sparely furnished Paris loft with a bathtub in the middle, plenty of room for his muse — fetching Vietnamese ingenue/ kleptomaniac Alba (Thuy An Luu) — to blithely rollerskate about. He spends his days in a state of sublime existential sangfroid, piecing together an oversized crossword puzzle of a crashing wave. Or waxing on about the art of cutting a baguette. When he steps out of self-contained serenity, he drives a classic cream Citroen. He has more than one, a necessity you will discover near the end of the movie.

Gorodish is but one of the reasons why the film Diva is the first in a new regular series here — called “Movies I Love.” –heralding older films I, uh, well, uh, love. And you might too.

This is a gorgeous, super stylish and stylized 1981 French/ comedy/ thriller/ romance/ noir, the second film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix. The only other you might know is Betty Blue, which while anxiously awaited, justifiably never received much acclaim. Diva is something else again entirely. That it is being reissued to some very lucky theaters upon its quarter century anniversary is a testament to the staying power of its allure. It’s available on DVD.

To explain the rather complicated plot is not to explain the flick. There’s this young postman Jules (Frédéric Andréi) who loves opera. He surreptitiously records a famous diva Cynthia Hawkins (Wilhelmenia Fernandez), who has never allowed any recordings of her voice. An Asian record company learns of the tape and two of their “representatives” chase our postman to get it. Meanwhile there’s a cassette tape of a rogue cop running a hooker ring that accidentally fall into Jules’ hands. So he’s also being chased by a couple of bad cops who want it back and Jules taken care of, including one with a memorable face who wields a mean knife (But a name I can’t seem to track down even using IMDb.com. He also appeared in Amelie.).

Jules develops a relationship with Hawkins after returning a gown of hers he stole. (Is he also stealing pensioners’ money along his postal route?) Alba isn’t the only one with a desire for others’ property. Those two meet when Jules sees her shoplifting an album at a record store. So he hooks up with Gorodish, who we know will eventually help Jules out of his jam. But it’s so much fun discovering how.

Confused? Not to worry. It is far less complicated when you see it.

Besides the Beineix’s Paris is lush and stylized. Even Jules apartment in a room off a parking garage is hipness squared with supergraphics on the walls to die for.

Plus there’s an amazing chase scene through the Paris Metro. Jules is on his motor scooter. The bad guys — both sets of them — are on foot or in their cars. And there are subtleties galore — little innuendos that will make you smile — they make it mandatory to see the movie several times to pick them all up. Of a lighthouse hideout where Gorodish, Jules and the philosophical Alba find themselves, she deems it “a castle where the witch makes poisoned red apples to advertise the toothpaste movie stars use.”

Film Babe had never seen the film before when we watched it the other night. About halfway through, she muttered, this is a “way cool film.” From the mouths of Babes.

Let it be written, let it be confirmed. Diva is a marvelous movie, beautiful to watch, intelligent in design and execution. Most important, it entertains and gives pause.

Ah, but that Gorodish, he steals the day. Able to teach Nicholson or Belmondo or any of the James Bonds a lesson, he is the paradigm of cinematic male coolness. I’d love to be Gorodish. I’m not. But I sure love his flick.

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