Plavalaguna

The opera singer herself, like all the characters in the film, was invented by Luc Besson . Plavalaguna is one of the three significant female characters, along with Lilu and Korben’s mother ^[1] , in addition, she is a mother figure for both Korben and, in particular, for Lilu , with whom she has a mental connection ^{[2 ]} . Among other things, Plavalaguna in the film is a secret agent of the Mondoshavan race and is responsible for the delivery of four of the five elements ^[3] .

Etymology

The name of the singer is a loan from the name of the Croatian town Plava Laguna , in which Luke Besson spent his summer holidays as a child. Translated from Croatian, this name means "Blue Lagoon" ^[4] . An interesting fact - one of the first films with the participation of Milla Jovovich is called " Return to the Blue Lagoon ." The singer’s dress itself, like other costumes of the film, was developed by Jean Paul Gaultier , and the character design was invented by John Koppinger ^[5] , famous for the character design of Star Wars ^[6] .

Appearance

Plavalaguna is a representative of the bipedal alien humanoid erect race, in many ways similar to the earthly woman ^[7] . In addition to high growth, its pronounced distinguishing features are blue skin and blood based on hemocyanin , as well as long processes on the head and back, like lecca in twi'leks or processes of the predator race. The function of the processes is unknown. Six long processes are located on the head, three from each temple, in addition, the head itself has an elongated rounded shape. The other six processes are located two at the base of the neck, in the middle of the back and at the base of the buttocks. There is no hairline on the head.

Execution

The role of Diva Plavalaguna was performed by the French actress Mayvenn , who at the time of the production of the film was in a civil marriage with Luke Besson ^[8] . The aria “ Il dolce suono ” from the opera “ Lucia di Lammermoor ” by composer Gaetano Donizetti ^{[9] [10]} in Italian “behind the scenes” was performed by opera singer Inva Mula . Part of Lucia de Lamermur Plavalaguna’s aria is performed with synthetic vocals (that is, voice, but without the use of words and with music), not sung by a human voice, but created on a computer, since a human voice is not able to master a similar range characteristic of the film’s legend for the voices of Plavalaguna (At the time of filming, no man was found with the ability to perform in that voice) Luke Besson wanted to shoot the scene on which Diva performs an aria in France, but could not find a suitable scene, and the shooting had to be transferred to London in Royal Covent Garden , as well as to 007 Stage studio ^[11] . For some time in various publications it was believed that the voice of the opera diva was the voice of the singer of Inca origin, Ima Sumak ^[12] .

Russian dubbing was carried out by Olga Pletneva and Natalya Kaznacheeva .

After the release of the film, the name Plavalaguna became in some way a household name for opera singers whose voice range exceeds 5 octaves ^[13] . It is believed that the aria of Lucia de Lammermoor in the performance of the character caused the popularity of the opera among the public ^[14] , the character itself is often called the cosmode ^[15] and space cuttlefish ^{[16] [17]} . The ending of the scene of the film with the participation of Plavalaguna is an allusion to the stage with the heroine of the opera Lucia di Lammermur ripping open her stomach in a fit of madness ^[18] .

The aria of Lucia de Lammermoor in the image of the Plavalaguna is often performed by contestants from various talent television shows ^[19] , as well as popular performers such as Pelageya ^[20] , Taisiya Povaliy ^[21] and Eugene Laguna ; the latter partially used the image of a fictional opera diva on itself ^{[22] [23]} . At the New Year’s TV show of NTV channel “Very New Year” in 2011, using a computer graphics editing, a clip was created with the participation of Andrey Mironov and Plavalaguna ^[24] .

Likewise dresses Plavalaguna is often used at many theme parties and Halloween , in addition, designers often use elements of an unusual dress on copies of their shows ^[25] .

• Besson, Luc. The Story of the Fifth Element: The Adventure and Discovery of a Film. - London: Titan Books , 1997 .-- ISBN 978-1-85286-863-5 .
• Dr. Jeongwon Joe. The Fifth Element // Opera as Soundtrack. Ashgate Publishing, 2013 .-- ISBN 1472411323 .
• Brian L. Ott, Robert L. Mack. Psychoanalytic Analysys // Critical Media Studies: An Introduction. - John Wiley & Sons, 2009 .-- ISBN 140516185X .
• Russell West, Frank Lay. American Culture X // Subverting Masculinity: Hegemonic and Alternative Versions of Masculinity in Contemporary Culture. - Rodopi, 2000. - ISBN 904201234X .
• Pearson Education, Tim Conley and Stephen Cain. The Fifth Element // Encyclopedia of Fictional and Fantastic Languages. - Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006. - ISBN 0313021937 .
• Stephen D. Rogers. The Fifth Element // The Dictionary of Made-Up Languages: From Elvish to Klingon, The Anwa, Reella, Ealray, Yeht (Real) Origins of Invented Lexicons. - Adams Media, 2011 .-- ISBN 1440530394 .
• Besson, Luc. The Story of the Fifth Element: The Adventure and Discovery of a Film. - London: Titan Books , 1997 .-- ISBN 978-1-85286-863-5 .