Ten directors make short films based on their favourite operatic arias. Lots of pretty pictures, but most of the segments are either pointless, senseless, or dull. Exceptions: the contributions of Jarman, Russell, Sturridge, and Temple.I took very brief notes on each: "Un ballo in maschera": dull, clumsy, amateurish-looking and incoherent. D- "La virgine degli angeli": weird, dream-like story works; good cinematography. A- "Armide": weird and seemingly pointless, though not boring and vaguely artistic. B- "Rigoletto": this funny segment tells the most straightforward story. A- "Die tote Stadt": pointless, uneventful pretty pictures. D+ "Les Boréades": pointless incoherence. D "Liebestod": baffling sex and death story with pretty pictures. C- "Nessun dorma": clever, disturbing abstract art. B+ "Depuis le jour": somewhat effective. B "I pagliacci": slightly affecting opera scene is too simple. C+

Although I'm not going to talk about EVERY segment, thank goodness! Aria, as a whole is of course, a somewhat uneven glorious mess, done by 10 directors, 10 different arias, and 10 different stories. They all seem to have one thing in common. Lots and lots of naked women. Not really sure if this was just a bizarre coincidence or if it was a requirement, but Aria seems totally nudity heavy.Anyways, I found the segments set in the present much more enjoyable then the ones in the past (which makes the arias that much more pretentious). My favorite, of course, was the ultra-bizarre Bud Cort / Beverly D'Angelo pairing about the cheating spouses. Lots of fun there. Close behind was the strange beauty of the Las Vegas one with Bridget Fonda. Again, not all of it (John Hurt anyone?) works, but some of it is interesting enough.

This film contains some very beautiful music (of course!) and some highly individual impressions. It is unlikely that anyone will be enthralled by every scenario, but most viewers should be attracted to many of them. Running from slapstick to tragedy, the film illustrates life in the extreme. Don't be a newspaper critic, let your imagination loose and enjoy!

If you like Opera, all the arias will be familiar. The treatments the ten directors give to one aria each, are totally removed from their original context. Nessun Dorma from Turandot becomes the vision of a girl in a near-fatality - gripping imagery culminates in the final VINCERO! of her survival . . .John Hurt lip-synching Vesti la Giubba from I Pagliacci is perhaps the low-point, but the madly bawdy Robert Altmann scene fails too - the rest is a lavish treat! The tragedy of children dying is captured in gritty black and white to the serene melody of Verdi's La Vergine Dell' Angeli, the remarkable outcome of an assasination attempt at a King's life is done brilliantly to the backing of La Sua Parole from A Masked Ball . . . with totally different ending to the one in the Opera! See this, then view it again; you will be amazed and enriched - if you like Opera, that is. If you do not, and have no desire to, then please: go back to the usual fare - this will have very little to offer you - enjoy your Stallone and van Damme.