Spanish director
Carlos Saura created the film
Carmen in
collaboration with
flamenco dancer Antonio Gades, the second of three films they made together now collectively referred to as the Saura "
dance trilogy."
These include:
The action of the film centers around Antonio (Antonio Gades), leader of a dance troupe, who is seeking the perfect dancer to play the role of Carmen in his production. He finds her in the semi-demonic young woman of the same name, and his life moves in parallel to the novel's storyline--evil woman, jealous man, unhappy ending.
I am not a dancer. Previous to watching this movie, had you asked me to list art forms, dance would have been added only as an afterthought. However, this film made me understand dance as a mode of expression in a way I never had before. It made me actually get up and attempt to dance (luckily where no one could see me). The fire of romance, the insanity of jealousy, the pain, the desire . . . watch this or one of the other dance trilogy films if you can.
Availability in the US is not great. I ended up buying the (very) rare DVD over Ebay.