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This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Jules (Fréderic Andréi) doesn't need any of the assorted divas that the world bows down to. The other lonely young men of the Earth's population have Donna Summer, Diana Ross, Cher. He could laugh at their mainstream appeal, their obsession with dancing/voguing the night away at the nearest discothèque. But he's much too shy (and straight) for that nonsense. Instead of waiting for a Madonna of some kind to help him shimmy down the dance floor for the rest of his young life, he opts for Cynthia Hawkins (Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez), an opera star renowned for her glamor and exquisite singing voice. Cynthia is a diva, no doubt, but she is Jules' diva. As she hates the idea of the business side of music, she has never recorded a performance or, heaven forbid, an LP. So one only has the option to see her live. The few that know of her don't just listen, watch; they change as a human. They leave a concert with a completely new, romanticized outlook on life.At least that's how Jules regards her. A massive poster of Cynthia's stunning face rests next to his bed, acting as guidance; when she holds a recital near his home, he not only steals one of her dresses -- he also captures her performance on a professional quality audio recorder. These acts are not out of malice but of desperation. He lives the life of a lonely postman, having little to cling onto besides his beloved diva.As the film opens, nothing is at stake. Cut just a few minutes into "Diva", though, and you'll find Jules going from nobody to human target in a dramatic flash and bang. Attending the very same concert are two Taiwanese gangsters, who takes notice of Jules' cunning. He becomes a danger to himself, as they would do anything to get their paws on the priceless recording. But things don't end there. The following day, when performing his usual mail route, a prostitute (Chantal Deruaz), killed moments later, drops a cassette in his moped's carrier pouch. That cassette, as it so happens, bears a story that could spell the death sentence for an important law enforcement figure. Also complicating Jules' situation are a flirtatious Vietnamese gigi (Thuy An Luu) and her mysterious lover (Richard Bohringer), who have decidedly unclear motives.On its surface, "Diva" appears to be a De Palma meets Godard visual orgy, but after you cut through its many layers of innovative, celebratory, stylistic cues, you'll find yourself infatuated with its quasi-convoluted (yet simple) story of intrigue. Here is a film deserving of applause for its near-perfect courtship of style and story. "Diva" is an obvious cinematic enchilada of all your favorite thriller delicacies, but it is also so much more than that. Though it was the directorial debut for the now cinema du look defining Jean-Jacques Beineix, it is so assured in its every decision that we feel as though our lives are being manipulated by something akin to a roller coaster, safety controlled but also head-spinningly unpredictable.Beinix likes to toy with us, and for once, obeying the puppet master proves advantageous. Look at the climactic, wildly implausible moped vs. police car chase, for instance. It takes detours down stairs, through narrow alleyways, and into the subway. It's all fantasy pulp, but Beineix's extravagant fondling of the camera makes it all seem possible. That's a sign of a good film, making sheer artificiality seem real. He is a visual poet of the highest common denominator.His images speak louder than words. The opening, focusing on the concert, flips back and forth between the complexions of Jules, through medium shots, Cynthia, through awestruck, close/far angles, and the gangsters. We know that Jules will be the hero, Cynthia the lovely female lead, because cinematographer Philippe Rousselot handles their faces, their bodies, with transfixed appreciation. The criminals, by contrast, are only judged by their sunglasses, which the camera sees as a defining feature. The scene contains no dialogue, unless you count Fernandez's soul stirring voice. But it develops the characters, slyly and imaginatively. And other characters, such as the childish Vietnamese girl and her boyfriend (or lover/father figure/spiritual leader?), live in a loft defined by its blue saturation and sparse furniture. The way their motives remain foggy throughout the movie, how they retreat in the apartment as though it were a rich pop artist's oasis away from the European world, makes them seem otherworldly, completely invincible, ageless.Though "Diva" is extremely stylish, it contains a staggering amount of evocative performances. Andréi possesses a youthful quality that makes him indefinable and difficult to dislike; Fernandez, in her only film role, lives up to the title of the diva and acts as an impossibly knowing, appealing obsession. Luu is agreeably strange and pixieish, while Bohringer stays simultaneously trustworthy and untrustworthy -- he is stupendously enigmatic.Some have said that "Diva" has better visuals than it does actual story, but such an assumption undermines Beineix's mastery. He finds a deft balance between artistic and tonal strength, through his visual ticks and plot implausibilities. It is a wild ride, a thriller ready to delight through its giddy unconformity.

Two tapes, two Parisian mob killers, one corrupt policeman, an opera fan, a teenage thief, and the coolest philosopher ever filmed. All these characters twist their way through an intricate and stylish French language thriller.What I liked about this film: Dominique Pinon, in a very early role. Also, the colors that made this come across as a new wave film mixed with something more... almost like a spy thriller or a murder mystery.Roger Ebert wrote, "The movie is filled with so many small character touches, so many perfectly observed intimacies, so many visual inventions—from the sly to the grand—that the thriller plot is just a bonus. In a way, it doesn't really matter what this movie is about; Pauline Kael has compared Beineix to Orson Welles and, as Welles so often did, he has made a movie that is a feast to look at, regardless of its subject. Here is a director taking audacious chances, doing wild and unpredictable things with his camera and actors, just to celebrate movie-making."

Overambition is always risky. Diva is so plot heavy that it almost cracks, but it is delicious and entertaining. As far as genre is concerned, this movie flirts with several, but I think it is safe to label Diva as essentially a neo noir. It is darkly romantic, full of corruption, and photographed in spectacular fashion. The colours are rich and the camera work is exquisite. The movie is almost great but not quite. In an attempt to bring everything together, it has a little climax trouble. A tape of evidence with exposes the Chief inspector of Paris as crooked ends up in the moped satchel of a mail boy named Jules, who suddenly finds himself being hunted down by goons with guns. But that's not his only problem. Jules has made a secret recording of his favourite opera singer live in concert. This singer has blatantly refused to do any recordings, and when word gets out that such a recording exists, different people are going after it. It is ever more essential that Jules keep it hidden, considering, that he and his singer friend have become intimate friends. Even though Diva enjoys piling it up by the pound, it does so in a compelling fashion. It is a good balance of bold and slick. There are a few clichés buried beneath the labyrinth plot that a picky person may be drawn to pick out, but I enjoyed Diva for its sense of non- convention. It puts character before character type, and tension above twist. Cinematography plays an exceptional role in this motion picture, which captures Paris in a far more exuberant way than I am used to seeing (and I've been there). One item about the city which has never appeal to me is that it is very grey, with not enough green. Grey is the last of the colours on Diva's colour pallet (execpt when necessary). This motion picture prefers something a little more romantic or expressive. like a jazzy blue, or a fiery red. I can easily give Diva a pass, and I can recommend it on numerous grounds. As a non-Hollywood thriller, Diva is exceptional, but it is not a film for the soft minded. It gets a bit too convoluted, not too messy, but there is a sense that it could use a slight reworking. This is not a light motion picture, but it ain't a dull one either.

This film has loads of style and some quirky humour. It doesn't make much sense from time to time, but it does keep you watching.It's set in Paris and it's an intrigue chase type thriller. There are twists and turns galore.I liked the Paris montage, but there is opera and I liked this less. To listen and see a scene of a woman singing arias may be music to some people, but not to others like me; however she is a most beautiful woman so at least that kept my attention.This movie is like a bag of potato chips, it's tasty and but once the bag is empty you toss it out.