It’s never too late to start over. The world is full of opportunities to pick up and start over, whether you’re venturing out into it for the first time as an adult, or picking up your profession or relationship again in your forties. The purpose of Carmen by Valerie Buhagiar is to make that very point. The fifty-year-old Carmen has spent her entire life devoted to the church and her family, but her world is turned upside down when she experiences an unexpected meeting. A new teaser shows the protagonist in the 1980s in the beautiful Mediterranean country of Malta. Upon meeting Carmen (Natascha McElhone), we learn that her family and her religion are the two things that ground and sustain her, but after her brother’s death and her turn in the confessional, she begins to see that there is more to life than just these two things.
Carmen goes off on her own because she longs to experience the thrilling adventure she was denied as a child. She meets a young guy and begins a whirlwind relationship that will alter the course of her life. Directed by Buhagiar, whose previous work includes the drama short The Fall of Grace (2017). Before then, the director had been attached to six other films. Her usual fare appears to consist of dramas, romances, and comedies, thus the fact that Carmen is based on actual events makes it a perfect fit for her.
Buhagiar became well-known as an actor at the same time, and even before, her directing career took off. The actor/actress had a career spanning several decades, during which they acted in films including Roadkill, Expecting, A Winter Tale, and Adriatico, My Love. Natascha McElhone, the film’s leading lady, has been in a number of critically acclaimed works, from movies like Ronin and The Truman Show to television shows like Californication, Designated Survivor, and The First. Her most recent acting role is on Halo, a Paramount+ series she also stars in. It’s clear from the preview that she’s committed herself fully to embodying Carmen’s newfound zeal for life, which she does by making herself her main priority and letting go of any inhibitions.
Synopsis
Carmen has spent her entire life in the role of caretaker for her brother, the parish priest in their little Mediterranean town. Because of the Church’s betrayal, Carmen is taken for the new priest and given a sacramental ordination. Carmen develops a fresh perspective on life and on herself. When an elder brother chooses the priesthood in Malta, the younger sister often follows suit. Based on a true story, Carmen is forced into servitude at the age of 16 and remains there until the death of her brother, at the age of 50. She leaves the religion after coming to terms with her own mortality and tries to make up for a lost time.