Watch La Bohème For Free

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This film was one of those that I saw in the late 1990s when I was first allowed to watch opera. I was bowled over by the singing, the acting and the production. It is partly responsible for kindling my interest in opera and for encouraging me to explore further. Naturally, on this journey, I have seen many more Bohèmes, several of which I have reviewed on this site. In the process I have come to realise that the singing in this film is only Australian class rather than world class. David Hobson has a rather thin tone as Rodolfo and Cheryl Barker's delivery, as Mimi, is somewhat unemotional. Still I find the performances immensely moving and the stage direction by the young Baz Luhrmann is unsurpassed.Luhrmann sets the story firmly in Paris in 1957. We have lots of 1950's posters in the Bohemians' garret and, when we first see Marcello, he is flinging paint onto a canvas in the manner of an action painter. Such updates do always create incongruities. Mimi's dying of consumption in 1957 is a bit unlikely and I am fairly sure that they had electricity in Paris in the 1950s so all the business about Mimi's candle blowing out becomes a bit silly. Still, we do not mind because David Hobson and Cheryl Barker make such a sexy couple and Luhrmann has an original take on their groping for the key in the dark. On the rotating stage, their first act finale O Suave Fanciula takes place on the roof of their apartment in front of a neon sign reading "L'Amour". Mimi gently pushes Rodolfo away as he attempts to kiss her because it is too early in their relationship.There is a good Café Momus scene with effective performances from Roger Lemke as Marcello and Christine Douglas as Musetta. I liked the addition of Japanese tourists to the festivities. The breakup scene is gut-wrenching, on a split-level stage with Mimi down below overhearing Rodolfo's fears for her life and his need to get away from her for her own sake. Luhrmann saves two clever details for the final scene. When the lovers reminisce about finding the key, Rodolfo actually produces it from a string around his neck. Where the lovers embrace for the last time Mimi again refuses to kiss Rodolfo. This time it is too late.

I had never seen the Opera La Bohéme before, then,I cannot say that this version is better than the other ones.In my opinion, I found it quite interesting, not only for the love story, which is beautiful spite of being simple, but also because it take place in modern times. Most of the Operas that I watched, happened in remote time, or in the last century.La Bohéme has its story in France, after the Second World War and tells about Rodolfo and Mimi , neighbours that fall in love to each other.As all the operas, it finishes in a tragic way, that it is the death of Mimi.

This is a superb staging of an opera that never fails. Singers have been cast for dramatic effect. David Hobson is particularly effective. Musical purists should look elsewhere (Hobson has a passable, but very light voice), but anyone else will really enjoy this production. That the director is Baz Luhrmann and it has a definite affinity with the new movie Moulin Rouge, adds to its value.

With Moulin Rouge doing well at the box office at the moment, I decided to see whether the IMDB contained an entry for the video of Luhrmann's original opera production La Boheme, the one that contains the huge rooftop sign saying L'Amour, which also features in Moulin Rouge. Well, it's here but no user comments at all. What a shame!This Australian production is a wonderful La Boheme, more like a musical than an opera and not really for opera buffs. At the time of its first production it really was a production of the young, all the main singers as well as designer Catherine Martin and Baz himself being under thirty. The singers are good but not the very best, but most non-opera lovers will trade that in for singers who look the part. David Hobson is great looking as is Cheryl Barker who really does look consumptive at the end. And they can act. In the curtain calls at the end Hobson is really crying. This is emphatically not one of those opera productions where you desperately try to forget that the singers are middle-aged, decidedly rotund and definitely not suffering.The design is beguiling, setting the opera in 1950s Paris complete with cool leather jackets, new look dresses and bright lights amid post-war drabness. It is stagey, because this is a video of a stage production but the original direction was very fluid and the set works beautifully. As with all updating there are problems with anachronisms (no wall around Paris is a problem). But these are small points. This was Baz Luhrmann's first hurrah and a great one too. Don't know how readily available it is but rush to see it if you can.