This TV bio is perfectly adapted to its subject: It has the intellectual gravity of a sea cucumber and the superficial good looks of the drama queen it depicts. Dalida's torments were mostly of her own making and the result of egotism, ignorance, narcissism, vanity, hormonal imbalances, greed, possessiveness, shallowness and narrowmindedness. There is no way this film can make them look interesting without resorting to dire soap opera effects, i.e. one surgical emergency after another whenever tension slacks or Dalida's career or chicken-hawk love affairs lapse into repetition. The series furthermore makes no effort to compare Dalida's output with that of her contemporary equals, e.g. Petula Clark et al., to describe her place in the variety firmament or to give a glimpse of the society she moved around in. Supporting roles are equally wasted, hollow and one-dimensional. Strictly for spectators of both sexes who wish to channel their inner drag queen...

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