Carmen Jones!!

Director: Otto Preminger
(1954)

Carmen Jones starring Dorothy Dandridge was an absolute treat! I may be just a little biased because I've always admired Dorothy Dandridge and how she kept her integrity and stayed true to herself in the face of racism, etc. in her preferred industry. Not to mention, she is one the of the most gorgeous women I've ever seen. Ever.

I think that this film is ultimately about a selfish woman who has to face the consequences of trying to have her cake and eat it too. Carmen Jones is a woman who goes after what she wants and doesn't stop until she gets it. As a parachute maker at an army camp she sets her sights on
Joe, played by Harry Belafonte, who is engaged to Cindy Lou.
Eventually, Carmen wins Joe's affections and convinces him to run away with her despite his obligations to the army. After being on the run and living in a shabby hotel with Joe, Carmen's love interests shift towards an up and coming boxer and naturally, Joe becomes jealous. Really, really jealous. When Joe finds out about the boxer and Carmen's visitations with him she finds that she is actually in a, what I like to call, "Love you to DEATH" situation.

Watching the film I don't think that I could have predicted the ending but when I saw what happened I wasn't really all that surprised. Love, especially in the light of major sacrifice, is a powerful thing. The film is a musical which I thought would have made the subject matter seem lighter than it was but it didn't and in some places I wished that they would just STOP SINGING! It was too much for me, but they didn't as it was a musical.