We are kept guessing her motivations for most of the movie and when we realize what she really stands for, then the questions of whether she and Ethan might develop a romantic affection take over. It starts off with tremendous ambiguity she saves him from certain death but then shows up at the opera looking like she might commit murder. But we all know that Calaf and Turandot’s feelings toward each other are extremely ambiguous throughout the opera (we never really believe that she truly loves him), so too do we constantly wonder where the relationship between Ethan and Ilsa is going. Calaf sings it first to present Turandot with a way out of their marriage then he sings the melody during his famed aria when he is convinced of victory then the chorus takes it away at the grand finale to celebrate their love. Just as in this film, the melody appears three times in Puccini’s opera (though admittedly the final time is Alfano’s choice, not Puccini’s). The second time is their final scene together when one might expect them to kiss instead, they hug and we hear the melody. The first time, she asks him to come away with her. We only ever get to hear the famed melody two more times in the film and they both showcase the relationship between Hunt and Ilsa Faust. In an interesting musical choice, composer Joe Kraemer decides that the “Turandot” sequence is not going to simply be an isolated incident in the film, but decides to weave “Nessun dorma” into the tapestry of his music. The ending of “Turandot” has always been a major concern around the opera community and in this case, McQuarrie makes a subtle suggestion to the fact that he’s not going to get into that debate at all – this performance of “Turandot” gets no ending.īut that’s not where it all ends.
Just to be safe, McQuarrie, taking a cue from Hitchcock, gives the audience a closeup of the music with the text, “Vincero,” clearly visible to the viewer.Īnd with that we get to experience 10 full minutes of “Turandot” with tenor Gregory Kunde and soprano Lise Lindstrom.Īnd the scene eventually builds to the famed High B on “Nessun Dorma,” where the opera reaches an untimely conclusion. In any case, “Turandot” proves to be a solid choice overall mainly because director Christopher McQuarrie doesn’t need to set up the climax for audiences “Nessun Dorma” is such a fixture of popular culture that they can guess where the big gunshot is going to happen. In “Mission Impossible,” the plot of the sequence also revolves around an assassination attempt during a performance of “Turandot.” Opera lovers may be distraught by the scrambling of some of the scenes of the opera, but this is not something we haven’t seen before in a film (see the “ Godfather Part III,” which incidentally also features an assassination attempt during an opera performance). Hitchcock has already cued the audience to the musical moment when the murder will occur in a previous scene and further reinforces it with close-ups of the sheet music during the performance. The entire piece is a callback to Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Man Who Knew Too Much” in which an assassination is planned at the Royal Albert Hall. Furthermore, it makes a subtle jab at the opera that it represents.
This set piece is excellent in its execution and its way to cue suspense in the audience. That, of course, is the famed action sequence at the Vienna State Opera. It will all come into play as we see him interact with Ethan Hunt in the next sequence I am about to relate. He’s also playing video games at work, which further emphasizes his unruliness.
First off, he’s a Brit in an American intelligence agency not that it’s unusual, but certainly highlights his position as somewhat of an outsider in not only nationality but character. It’s the perfect introduction to his character and hints at more to come. But when Mozart’s music comes roaring in with its jovial and sprightly manner, we know that Benji is in a different world. Preceding scenes have showcased Alec Baldwin and Jeremy Renner’s characters in serious and heated discussion over the future of IMF. The first appearance of opera comes in the form of Benji playing video games in the office with the overture to “Le Nozze di Figaro” blazing through his headphones. “Mission Impossible” doesn’t quite operate in the same vein, though its use of opera is quite interesting from a number of different angles.
We recently discussed “ Tosca” in “Quantum of Solace” and how the opera itself is a comment on the emotional substance of the film. It isn’t the first time that we see this kind of sequence in an action film.