Aria (1987) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

An anthology links ten opera-based vignettes through recurring images of passion, performance, danger, memory, and death.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

Royal Danger And Sacred Fire

The anthology opens with King Zog's visit to Vienna and an assassination attempt at the opera house. It then shifts to London, where three children steal and burn a luxury car before watching the report on television.

Key Events

• Opening Opera Credits — The opening credits play over the prelude to Verdi's La traviata. Location: Opening credits
• King Zog Visits Vienna — King Zog visits Vienna to see a lover. Characters: King Zog, Lover Location: Vienna
• Assassination Attempt — Opponents attempt to assassinate King Zog on the opera house steps. Characters: King Zog Location: Opera house steps
• King Zog Fires Back — King Zog survives by shooting back at the attackers. Characters: King Zog Location: Opera house steps
• Children Venerate Statue — Three children in London devote themselves to a statue of the Virgin Mary. Location: London
• Luxury Car Burns — The children steal and set fire to a luxury car. Location: London
• Fire Appears On Television — The children later watch news coverage of the car fire on television. Location: Children's viewing room

Bodies Masks And Infidelity

Two cleaners become fascinated by bodybuilders in a gym while the men maintain their concentration. A separate bedroom farce follows a producer, his German starlet, his wife, and her clandestine companion at the Madonna Inn.

Key Events

• Cleaners Enter Gym — Two young women work as cleaners in a gym. Location: Gym
• Bodybuilders Hold Focus — The women become entranced by the muscular bodybuilders. Location: Gym
• Striptease Challenges Concentration — The women strip while the bodybuilders maintain their concentration. Location: Gym
• Madonna Inn Farce Begins — A bedroom farce begins inside the Madonna Inn. Location: Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo
• Producer's Double Affair — A movie producer cheats with a German starlet while his wife is also at the inn. Location: Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo
• Secret Hunk Revealed — The producer's wife is secretly accompanied by a hunk of her own. Location: Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo
• Deserted Bruges — Empty buildings and deserted streets establish Bruges as a seemingly dead winter city. Location: Bruges

Deserted Streets And Staged Madness

Winter images of Bruges are intercut with a duet between two lovers. In Paris, an opera preview is performed for inmates from a mental asylum.

Key Events

• Deserted Bruges — Empty buildings and deserted streets establish Bruges as a seemingly dead winter city. Location: Bruges
• Lovers In Bed Chamber — Footage of two lovers in an ornate bed chamber is intercut with the empty city. Characters: Lover Location: Ornate bed chamber in Bruges
• Asylum Audience Arrives — An opera preview is presented to inmates from a mental asylum. Location: Théâtre Le Ranelagh, Paris
• Opera Preview Unfolds — The audience watches a preview of Abaris ou les Boréades. Location: Théâtre Le Ranelagh, Paris

Passion Surgery And Survival

Two young lovers drive through Las Vegas, make love, and slash their wrists in a hotel bath. Another vignette transforms surgical preparation into an imagined tribal ritual before the patient regains consciousness.

Key Events

• Lovers Drive Las Vegas — Two young lovers drive down Fremont Street at night. Characters: Lover Location: Fremont Street, Las Vegas
• Cheap Hotel Tryst — The young lovers make love in a cheap hotel. Characters: Lover Location: Cheap hotel in Las Vegas
• Wrist Slashing — After making love, the young lovers slash their wrists in the bath. Characters: Lover Location: Hotel bathroom
• Surgery Becomes Ritual — An unconscious woman's surgical preparation appears in her imagination as a tribal adornment ritual. Location: Operating room
• Patient Regains Consciousness — After nearly dying on the operating table, the woman regains consciousness. Location: Operating room

Memory Death And Musical Return

A veteran singer performs for the last time alongside memories of youth and love. An aging virtuoso dies while miming an aria in an empty opera house, after which the credits return to the musical cycle.

Key Events

• Veteran's Final Performance — A veteran opera singer gives a final performance. Location: Opera performance space
• Young Love Recalled — The performance is intercut with home movies of the singer when young and in love. Location: Home movie footage
• Empty Opera House — An aging virtuoso performs alone in an ornate opera house with a possibly imaginary young woman present. Location: Ornate opera house
• Virtuoso Dies — The aging virtuoso mimes the aria and dies. Location: Ornate opera house
• Opera Excerpts Replay — A small excerpt from each of the ten operas plays during the closing credits. Location: Closing credits
• La Traviata Returns — The closing credits return to the overture to La traviata, completing the musical cycle. Location: Closing credits

Story Breakdown

• Royal Assassination — King Zog's romantic visit to Vienna becomes a violent encounter outside the opera house.
  • Vienna Lover Visit — King Zog travels to Vienna to see a lover.
  • Opera Steps Attack — Opponents shoot at King Zog, who survives by firing back.
• Sacred Car Fire — Three London children combine religious devotion with an act of destructive mischief.
  • Virgin Mary Statue — The children are devoted to a statue of the Virgin Mary.
  • Televised Aftermath — They later watch news coverage of the luxury car burning.
• Bodies And Desire — The gym vignette focuses on fascination, display, and disciplined concentration.
  • Cleaners Watch — Two young cleaners become entranced by male bodybuilders.
  • Stripped Distraction — The women strip while the bodybuilders maintain their focus.
• Inn Of Infidelity — A comic bedroom farce interweaves a producer's affair with his wife's secret companion.
  • Producer's Affair — The movie producer cheats on his wife with a German starlet.
  • Secret Companion — The wife is also present at the inn with a clandestine hunk.
• Love And Death — The anthology presents romantic intimacy alongside self-destructive and life-threatening outcomes.
  • Las Vegas Lovers — Two young lovers drive through Las Vegas, make love, and slash their wrists.
  • Surgical Vision — An unconscious woman's surgery appears to her as a tribal adornment ritual.
• Memory And Performance — The final vignettes connect opera performance with recollection, mortality, and closure.
  • Veteran's Farewell — A veteran singer gives a final performance intercut with memories of youth and love.
  • Virtuoso's Death — An aging virtuoso mimes an aria alone and dies in an ornate opera house.

Directed by

Robert Altman, Julien Temple, Bill Bryden

Key Cast

• John Hurt — The Actor
• Theresa Russell — King Zog
• Sophie Ward — The Young Girl
• Buck Henry — Preston
• Beverly D'Angelo — Gilda