When making Carmen, the new romantic drama from French choreographer-turned-director Benjamin Millepied, Melissa Barrera saw the chance to redefine movies about the immigration experience and ran with it – or rather, pas de bourée couru with it. In the movie, which features more dance numbers than it does English-Spanish dialogue, Barrera plays the titular young woman, who runs into Paul Mescal's tortured ex-Marine Aidan while crossing the border between Mexico and the US.
When her mother is brutally killed by a dangerous drug cartel, Carmen sets a course for Los Angeles in the hopes of reuniting with family friend Masilda (Rossy de Palma) at her soul-soothing La Sombra nightclub. Carmen and Aidan wind up making the long journey together, finding quiet but passionate solace in one another along the way.
