Director Vicente Aranda based the plot on Mérimée's original 1847 novella about jealousy and passion, not its famous operatic adaptation by Bizet from 1875, changing some details about the love story between Carmen (Paz Vega) and José (Leonardo Sbaraglia).

As in the novella, author Mérimée (Jay Benedict) is portrayed as a French writer who finds the "real" Carmen in early 19th century Spain.

While traveling through Andalusia, Spain in 1830, Prosper Mérimée, a French writer, meets José, a wanted criminal.

On the way to prison, Carmen flirts with José and he consents to allow her to escape - his payback is the promise for a night of passion with her.

José turns a blind eye to Carmen's smuggler friends, allowing them to pass his post and, as a reward, she pays him with sex.

Their idyll is broken by the sudden arrival of Carmen's gangster husband, El Tuerto, who has just been released from prison.

José is initially extremely jealous but, fearing the consequences of clashing with the dangerous Tuerto, he has no other choice but to accept the circumstances.

Eventually José snaps and, with Carmen's aid, murders El Tuerto in a knife fight.

When he discovers Carmen in bed with Lucas, José kills the bullfighter and runs away from the dead man's hacienda.

While the quality of technical realization and costumes was acknowledged, viewers criticized the actors' performances, the lack of chemistry between the two main characters, and problems of the plot.