Lucia (1998) Online

This film really needs to be seen to be appreciated properly. It's difficult to do justice to it in a review. It is superbly visual, risk-taking, imaginative; not everything works (a lot of the cast seem chosen for their singing rather than their acting ability) and yet it is compulsively watchable (I am referring to the director's cut of just over 2 hours). At its best it contains a hypnotic, mesmeric quality which few films attain (few British ones, at any rate). In fact, the whole last half-hour or so is astoundingly delirious, on a par with the last half-hour of Powell and Pressburger's BLACK NARCISSUS or THE RED SHOES (Donizetti's music helps, of course, and it is extremely well sung by Amanda Boyd, in her only film role). This would certainly be a welcome DVD release.

Don Boyd is the only British director that has remained true to himself, everything he has done is a work of passion, everything he does he throws his heart and soul into it. Such is the case with this film, totally out there, vastly entertaining and Don does it his way, cast his own daughter, and makes a brilliant job of it. This will probably never been seen commercially but it deserves to. Don Boyd is the UK equivelant of Sam Fuller, uncompromising and edgy with his head firmly NOT up his own bottom like most Brit directors.

I went along to the Barbican and the London International Documentary festival last Sunday and saw a feature film which was not a documentary. It was absolutely brilliant. I had not heard about it before and wondered why. It had the feel of a very modern movie. Digital images. The director was there, Don Boyd, and he explained it was the first film to be transferred from digital video to 35mm film. It had a beautiful moody look. Very artistic. And the music was incredible - a mixture of opera and electro...The young actors I hadn't heard of but they ll seemed to be singing live but the film didn't seem like an opera film. It was the best music film I have seen in a long time and I like commercial films. My Italian friend who saw it with me loved it to and said that the mix of English for the dialogue and the subtitles for the opera music was perfect. Goog story in Scotland mixing ow with the the past. Go see it if you can. And I wish there was a DVD of it to buy. (Only one small problem - the soundtrack seemed a bit old fashioned but then I found out is was made 12 years ago). Nine out of Ten. AF