Diva

press release: France | 1981 | 35mm | 123 min. | French with English subtitles

Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix; Cast: Frédéric Andrei, Wilhelmenia Fernandez, Richard Bohringer

A young French music lover (Andrei) finds himself in the possession of rare tapes by an American opera star (Fernandez) who refuses to be recorded. Then, all hell breaks loose and our hero is soon being pursued by two gruesome thugs on a hair-raising moped and car chase through the Paris Metro. Helped by an eccentric assortment of friends, including a 14-year-old Vietnamese Girl (Thuy An Luu) and a man in a white suit named Gorodish (Bohringer), our hero tries to figure out the reasons behind his predicament. One of the most stylish and influential French movies of the last 40 years, Diva is a true feast for the senses.

After a nearly 16-month hiatus, big screen movies are making their comeback at the UW Cinematheque’s regular venue, 4070 Vilas Hall! Beginning Wednesday June 30, the Cinematheque will commence six weeks of free screenings beginning with Leo McCarey’s Make Way for Tomorrow, a classic tearjerker that was originally scheduled for April 2020. The summer lineup includes canonized comedies, action blockbusters, international thrillers, contemporary gems from Asia, the complete American works of French superstar Jean Gabin, a three-film salute to Charles Bronson in honor of his centennial, and more!

Summer programming will take place on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings and all feature films will be screened from original or archival 35mm prints. Admission, as always, is free and open to the public. Seating will be limited and socially distanced according to current UW-Madison policies. When possible, additional showtimes have been added to accommodate more viewers. All Cinematheque screenings are free and open to the public.