I watched La Bohème in September out of curiosity. I've had Rent DVDs from the library since then but finally watched the movie version this morning. It seemed quite timely to talk about rent, evictions, and starving artists. But as much as I can see how it was inspired by La Bohème, it was definitely modernized.
There are same sex relationships and a transgender character. There's drug addiction, a cinematographer, and protests.
The cast was simply amazing. Rosario Dawson, Taye Diggs, etc. I confess that I was working on a sorting project as I watched, so my attention was divided a bit.
It was longer than I anticipated (135 minutes), so I only watched the intro of the version filmed on Broadway. I'm sure the stage production is also amazing, but there are so many things you can do in film that you cannot do on a stage.
The story made me sad and a bit reflective. I have a better understanding of the story now, so when I see and hear references to either La Bohèmeor Rent, I will "get it." Time to return these to the library!
