Benjamin Millepied sat down with Solzy at the Movies to discuss his feature directorial debut, Carmen, opening up in theaters on April 21.

Carmen follows a young independent woman, Carmen (Melissa Barrera), as she is forced to flee her home in Mexico following the murder of her mother. After surviving an illegal border crossing into the US, she is confronted by a lawless volunteer border guard, who murders a pair of immigrants in her group. The guard and his patrol partner, Aidan (Paul Mescal)–a Marine suffering from PTSD–end up in a standoff together. Carmen and Aidan escape and make their way to Los Angeles in hopes of finding Carmen’s mother’s best friend, Masilda (Rossy De Palma), who owns the La Sambra nightclub. La Sambra is a sanctuary for music and dance. But even as the duo find solace and love at this sanctuary, the police are closing in.

During my chat with Benjamin Millepied, the filmmaker discusses how choreography informs his perspective on directing. He also talks about working with composer Nicholas Britell. Finally, Millepied talks about the biggest lessons he learned from his mentor, the great Jerome Robbins.

Sony Pictures Classics will release Carmen in theaters on April 21, 2023.

Please subscribe to Solzy at the Movies on Substack.