Mozart's Don Giovanni as a modern sex addict's fever dream — with an actual fever dream aesthetic.
The successful artist and playboy Juan is a notorious seducer of women, through his ability to be just what a woman dreams of: Charming, charismatic, strong, sensitive, sexual. Driven by a restless urge to conquer new women, use them, and throw them away, he has hired his friend Leporello to help create a masterpiece: A filmed database of all the women whose dreams Juan has shattered. We follow Juan and Leporello through 24 compressed hours. Juan seduces the young upper-class girl Anna, but ends up accidentally killing her father, a powerful police commissioner. The two friends run away, but Juan's constant need to seduce new women keeps interrupting their flight. As the police gains in on them, Juan also steals the young bride Zerlina from her groom Masetto, and soon a feverish manhunt is on for Juan.
Direction
Holten's seamless blend of opera and psychological thriller.
Acting
Maltman's terrifyingly charming embodiment of compulsive seduction.
Cinematography
Intimate handheld camera that refuses to look away.
Director
Kasper Holten
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Christopher Maltman originated this production at Covent Garden before the film adaptation, making Juan his signature role for nearly a decade.
The film was criticized for making Giovanni too sympathetic; Holten responded that modern audiences already romanticize toxic men, so showing the damage was the point.
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