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6.1/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.1/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Casta diva remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a soft spot for sweeping, slightly melodramatic musical biopics from the 1930s, you will probably dig Casta Diva. It moves at a glacial pace, which might drive some people up the wall. If you want a punchy, factual account of Bellini’s life, you are going to be bored to tears. This is for the people who want to get lost in the atmosphere rather than the history books.
The whole thing feels like it was filmed in a hazy, velvet-lined room. Everything is very polite and very earnest.
Watching Bellini wander around Naples looking for his muse is honestly kind of sweet. There is this one shot where he is just staring at a girl’s face—you know the one, that look of sudden, panicked inspiration—and the movie just sits there. It lets the silence do the work. It is a bit much, maybe, but it works.
The music, obviously, is the star here. Every time those strings swell up, you forget you are watching a movie that is pushing a century old. It’s got that specific charm that reminds me a bit of the musicality found in Ben Bernie and All the Lads, even if they are totally different genres.
Sometimes the film feels a little thin. Like, we get it, he is a genius. But does he have to look so intensely at every single sunset? It starts to feel like the movie is trying a bit too hard to make us feel 'the art' rather than just letting us enjoy it.
There is a scene involving a fountain that lasts for an eternity. I am pretty sure they just kept the camera rolling because they liked the sound of the water. It’s weirdly hypnotic.
It’s not as gritty or weird as The Mystery Train, obviously, but it has its own weird, quiet energy. You either surrender to it or you check your watch every five minutes. I surrendered.
There is no grand conclusion here. The movie just sort of drifts off into a melody. It feels incomplete, but in a way that feels intentional, like a half-finished note left on a piano bench. 🎼