There's a lot about this movie which I really like. Many people, like me, discovered it thanks to Trueba's "La niña de tus ojos", which imagined what happened during the shooting of this one and its German version, "Andalusische Nächte". It was indeed shot in Germany, and Hitler actually wanted to date Imperio Argentina (she was attracted to him, too, but she was a decent woman after all). And what is wonderful about "Carmen, la de Triana" is how extremely fake and fantastic it gets. It is based on "Carmen" of Prospere Merimee, about a woman who drives two men absolutely mad, with fatal consequences. The characters, the locations and the acting are exaggerated, but are extremely fun. Imperio Argentina had LOTS of charm. And... there is the music: in "Carmen la de triana" you can listen to many of the most important 'coplas' written, and sang with that gorgeous voice. There are skillful shootings, dynamic dialogues, sense of fun, and after all you can't notice much that all the extras were German (or maybe Jewish, as "la niña de tus ojos" pointed) or that movie was filmed with such tension and coldness. Along with "Nobleza baturra", the most interesting Florian Rey/Imperio Argentina "españolada", worth to watch. It's a pity that the remaining copies are in so bad state.
EDIT: what's even more interesting is comparing this movie to the Bizet's opera or to other adaptations, like "Loves of Carmen" and "Carmen Jones". Indeed, that Otto Preminger beautiful piece of work and this adaptation come as the two most unique, violent and immortal adaptations of the hundred made of the Merimee's story. A proof that this is a nice story told with music, where you get distracted to overlook the many over-the-top melodramatic tragic story of passion which, nevertheless, always manage to leave an impression. You can tell it in a group of black people which transforms an opera into soul without changing a note, or you can tell it with characters similar to the original ones but singing coplas, or you just can be as rough as you want as Vicente Aranda did in the last good adaptation: Carmen will always be one of the best "femme fatale" in the movie history.
EDIT: what's even more interesting is comparing this movie to the Bizet's opera or to other adaptations, like "Loves of Carmen" and "Carmen Jones". Indeed, that Otto Preminger beautiful piece of work and this adaptation come as the two most unique, violent and immortal adaptations of the hundred made of the Merimee's story. A proof that this is a nice story told with music, where you get distracted to overlook the many over-the-top melodramatic tragic story of passion which, nevertheless, always manage to leave an impression. You can tell it in a group of black people which transforms an opera into soul without changing a note, or you can tell it with characters similar to the original ones but singing coplas, or you just can be as rough as you want as Vicente Aranda did in the last good adaptation: Carmen will always be one of the best "femme fatale" in the movie history.
