Carmen | 2022 | R | – 6.5.6

Why is “Carmen” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “language, some violence and nudity.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a sex scene with partial nudity, a few kissing scenes, several people killed by gunshot with bloody wounds, a few fight scenes with resulting bloody wounds, scenes of people trying to get over the US border unseen, and nearly 20 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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A modern reimagining of the classic Prosper Mérimée tale of love and loss: a woman Melissa Barrera and a man (Paul Mescal) find themselves on the run as they try to escape police and find sanctuary in Los Angeles. Also with Elsa Pataky, Rossy de Palma, Nicole da Silva, Tara Morice and Kaan Guldur. Directed by Benjamin Millepied. Many lines of dialogue are spoken in Spanish with English subtitles. [Running Time: 1:56]

Carmen SEX/NUDITY 6

 – A man and a young woman kiss passionately, they take his shirt off (we see his bare chest and abdomen), they remove her shirt (we see her wearing a bra), the bra is removed and we see her bare breasts as they kiss, lie back on a bed and the man lies on top of the young woman as the scene ends (sex is implied).
► A man pulls a young woman toward him to kiss her; she tells him that he shouldn’t do that because her boyfriend is jealous and violent; another man walks toward them and the first man backs away. A woman approaches a man and flirts with him; the man discourages her and another woman approaches and is upset because the first woman is married to a different man.
► A young woman and a man hug as police speed by. A man and a young woman practice a dance routine with lifts and spins.
► There’s a reference to “drinks milk from your breast.” Two women joke about the size of a man’s genitals.
► Several women dance with suggestive movements and wear outfits revealing cleavage, bare abdomens and legs to the upper thighs. A young woman showers in a motel and we see her shoulders and legs. Women wear low-cut dresses that reveal cleavage in several scenes. A woman wears a camisole that reveals cleavage and her bra underneath the top. A young woman wears a tank top that reveals cleavage in several scenes. A shirtless man sleeps and we see his bare chest and abdomen. A young woman wears a tank top and underwear (we see cleavage and bare legs to the hips).

Carmen VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – Two men driving a truck in a desert stop to investigate a parked and seemingly abandoned truck behind a shrub; one man gets out carrying a weapon and shoots two men as they run away, a young woman also runs away, the gunman chases and tackles her, holds a gun to her head and he is shot in the head (we see the bloody wound); the young woman speeds away in a truck and a man jumps in the back, tries to climb in the passenger door and the young woman hits him.
► A loud car revs its engine and speeds along a dirt road sending dust plumes behind it; the two occupants of the car, each carrying guns, get out, demand information from a woman and one man shoots her (we hear the gunshot). A man moans and falls to the ground with a bloody abdominal wound, he breathes heavily and moans in pain when trying to get back up, but he cannot.
► Police arrive and raid a fight club and gunfire rings out: we see a few people struck with some blood evident. A man and a young woman attack two police officers coming to arrest them; the man punches one officer and we see the officers handcuffed in a motel room as the young woman holds their gun on one of them. Several men load weapons and prepare to patrol a border wall while joking about not needing to know how to speak Spanish. Men are shown fighting in a bare knuckles fight club setting and we hear there are no rules; we see men being punched and blood is seen on their hands and faces and one man spits blood when he is struck in the face.
► Several people including children walk through a desert to an underground passage that they climb through, they exit the passage and hide waiting for a truck to pick them up and drive them across a border and a young woman sings to a young girl to help her not be afraid.
► A man is seen in a wheelchair with injuries to his legs and he grips another man’s arm tightly (he seems in distress) when they meet at a party. A woman’s body is dressed in black and laid on a bed and a young woman is shown with blood on her hand; she smears some of the blood on her forehead, leaves the building and sets it on fire. Several dead bodies are shown lying on the ground in the desert and we see some blood on their clothing; one man is shown with a bullet hole in his forehead.
► A young woman stands in the doorway of a house and imagines a young boy holding a gun outside; she tells him, “Do it” (he does not shoot). A young woman stands over a fresh grave. A young woman runs along a dark road after the truck she is driving runs out of gas. Fire blocks a road and a man and young woman get out of a car and walk through a desert to a carnival where there are fireworks and dancers dancing in the area. A woman is shown in several scenes with her eyes closed (as if meditating) and her eyelids are painted with what looks like open eyes. A man imagines sand pouring into his car on his feet while he’s driving, and he sees something glittering in the desert. A man imagines his drinking glass filling with sand. Several people dance behind a woman and their arms make her look like Medusa with snakes on her head. A young woman cries mournfully and a woman embraces her. A man sleeps and seems to be having nightmares; we hear him moaning and he thrashes briefly.
► We hear sounds of battle (gunfire and helicopters) in a few scenes and understand that some people have served in Afghanistan. Embers shoot through the air and set small fires in a desert and a man stomps them out. A man punches a heavy bag. We hear what sounds like gunshots in the background of a cookout sequence. A man teaches a young boy to box.
► A man’s heart is said to “pump[s] sand through his veins.” A patch on a man’s jacket reads, “Liberty or Death.” A man sings lyrics that include chants for people to kill each other in a fight while a crowd of bystanders stomps on the floor.
► A man urinates in a field (we do not see flesh or a stream). A woman washes a young woman’s feet and applies oil to them. A man is shown with scars on his back and chest when he takes off his shirt.

Carmen LANGUAGE 6

 – About 18 F-words (and its derivatives), 2 sexual references, 2 scatological terms, 12 anatomical terms, 6 mild obscenities, 1 derogatory term for Mexican people, name-calling (white boy, bad man, vile, scoundrel, evil), 6 religious exclamations (e.g. Christ, Holy Mary, my God, thank God, cruel God, a large poster depicting Mary hangs on a wall). | profanity glossary |

Carmen SUBSTANCE USE

 – People drink beer at a cookout, and people drink alcohol in a few club scenes. A woman smokes cigarettes in a few scenes, and a man smokes cigarettes in a couple of scenes.

Carmen DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Afghanistan war, military service, the US/Mexico border, border patrol, chaos, disorder, betrayal, pain, fear, death of loved ones.

Carmen MESSAGE

 – The thing you are running from is usually the thing you are running toward.