Diva (Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1981)

I find the reputation of this one a little baffling. It seems to me to consist of an entirely ludicrous and hackneyed story of music and obsession that fails to cohere with an equally ludicrous crime story that swiftly drains itself of any tension or intrigue whatsoever. Not that I have anything against the ludicrous, but I can't see the glorious excesses and excitements that supposedly justify it (though I quite enjoyed the scene about buttering baguettes and the thugs are entertaining enough). If Pauline Kael really did compare Beineix to Orson Welles, that has me all the more baffled. I think a well-chosen episode of Columbo would have more of everything this film is trying to achieve.