In the weeks that follow, and as negotiations prove more and more futile, her singing proves to be the soothing balm these otherwise violent terrorists require to see the finer things in life. Coss, who’s just too beguiling and who the revolutionaries know is their main chance at leveraging a better deal. Just as in real life, all the women are released - except for Ms. cultural objects that treat South America more as a colorful and exotic (not to mention dangerous) image of a place than a real-life location. They’re unaware that President Matsuda (an obvious nod to then-Peruvian President Fujimori, who was of Japanese descent) is not even present for the performance, having canceled his appearance at the last minute.īel Canto joins a long line of U.S. After Coss sings her beautiful arias, a group of armed revolutionaries take over hoping to hold the President for ransom. The Japanese businessman has been lured to “the host country” with the promise of seeing the famous soprano, because the president hopes to convince him to build some factories that would jumpstart the country’s failing economy. Roxane Coss (played in the film by Julianne Moore, who lip syncs to recordings by Renée Fleming) has been invited to sing for Mr. cultural objects that treat South America more as a colorful and exotic (not to mention dangerous) image of a place than a real-life location.īel Canto imagines a scenario very much like the real Lima Crisis, a 1996 hostage situation wherein fourteen members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement took over the residence of the Japanese ambassador for more than 120 days, but puts a fictional opera singer at the center.

The film of Bel Canto joins the novel in a long line of U.S. After catching the film for myself, however, I can confirm that Chris Weitz’s adaptation is as uninterested in Peru as Patchett was. But in a film, where you can see the setting, surely they’d have more respect for both the audience and Peruvian history. Patchett had gotten away with nodding to her real-life inspiration while leaving her novel devoid of geographical specifics it’s all “the host country” this and “this godforsaken country” that. Surely, I mused, the filmmakers wouldn’t dare set this hostage narrative in a nondescript Latin American nation - not when it was so obviously based on the 1996 “Lima Crisis” that took place at the Japanese ambassador’s house in Peru. When I first watched the trailer for Bel Canto, I asked out loud (by which I mean, I tweeted) whether anyone knew if Anne Patchett’s “unspecified South American country” had been specified for the film version. Sign up for our newsletter to get submission announcements and stay on top of our best work.

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