Evita (5 Stars)

This is a film that overwhelms me whenever I watch it. The powerful imagery and the emotional depth combine with the musical score to create an unforgettable experience. Madonna is so perfect in the title role that it's difficult to believe she was only chosen after a series of other actresses, including Michelle Pfeiffer and Meryl Streep, had turned the role down. This was the film that established Madonna as an actress after a string of poor quality flops. Or maybe it wasn't her acting abilities that helped her; as a singing performer she excels, which made her the ideal person for this role. When I first saw the film I was pleasantly surprised that Antonio Banderas was such a skilled singer. Jonathan Pryce's voice is average, but sufficient for the small number of lines he has to sing.

The film is based on a musical written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd-Webber in 1976. It follows the path of Eva Duarte (played by Madonna), a poor girl who slept her way to the top in Argentina in the first half of the 20th Century. The film shows her repeatedly swapping lovers to get herself roles in films, but no judgement is passed. She was a poor girl in a poor country doing what was necessary to succeed. She reached the pinnacle when she became the lover of Juan Peron (Jonathan Pryce), a man with the potential to become the country's next president. While he was in power she became a symbol for the country, someone the country's poor people could relate to. The film continues up to her death of cancer when she was 33. Eva's life is presented to us through the eyes of a common man, Antonio Banderas as the "voice of the people", nameless in the film though called Che in the original musical.

The film glamorizes Eva's life, and even though it mentions the corruption in passing the darker sides are omitted. Juan Peron is presented as a "hero of the people", but he was also a Nazi sympathiser, and after the Second World War he personally granted asylum to any German war criminals able to reach South America. Argentina already had a large German immigrant community, so they were able to blend in.

The film was one of the first ever to be released on DVD. It also holds the record for the most costume changes in the film; Madonna supposedly wears 85 different outfits during the film. Maybe one day when I'm feeling bored I'll sit and count them.

On an unrelated topic... I've noticed that some people have been buying items via my blog. They're clicking on my pictures to open Amazon, then buying random items such as kitchen equipment. Thank you for this, whoever you are, because it earns me a small referral fee. I keep the advertisements in this blog to a minimum, because I'm more interested in speaking to people than making money. But if my regular readers nevertheless want to support me, thank you.