Directed by Franco Zeffirelli France/Italy/Spain. 2001. 35 mm, 108 min. Florida Premiere

Another legend returns: Maria Callas, the opera star whose life, on-stage and off, was as romantically grand as a Verdi queen's. Famously-jilted by Aristotle Onassis for you-know-who, Maria sang her pain and destroyed her voice. But in this sumptuous imagining by none other than Franco Zeffirelli (Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet), Maria (Fanny Ardant) is 53 and planning her comeback in a soaring production of "Carmen." Unfortunately, her collaborator has less lofty ambitions. Larry (Jeremy Irons) is a gay has-been punk rock manager with a bad ponytail to boot, looking for a cash cow. He plans for the performance to be dubbed; a cheesy vehicle to re-release old Callas recordings. But much to his own surprise, Larry has a soul, which first starts peeking through in a steamy romance with a handsome young deaf man. As Larry and Maria plan the production, they find even deeper layers of humanity in each other. Ardant's Maria is as full and radiant as we want her to be, and Irons is simply a revelation. The real star here is opera, and "Callas Forever" gives us the best of it, bringing the imagined production to life in dazzling, dramatic sequences staged in a swirl of gorgeous locations. It's as if Zeffirelli, having directed the real Callas on stage years ago, has finally fulfilled his own burning passion to see Callas on film. Get lost in that passion; revel in the voice of an unforgettable diva.
In French, Italian and Spanish with English subtitles.

Total running time: 108 min.
$12 non-members / $10 members

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