|
Pina
| Released |
22 April 2011 |
| Director |
Wim Wenders |
| Starring |
Pina Bausch |
| Writer(s) |
Wim Wenders |
Producer(s)
|
Wim Wenders,
Gian-Piero Ringel |
| Origin |
Germany, France, United Kingdom |
| Running Time |
104 minutes |
| Genre |
Musical |
| Rating |
G |
|
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Bored of the dance.
From the opening scenes of Pina I knew I was in trouble. I love dance on film but the work of the renowned choreographer Pina Bausch (who died just before production began) is the kind that I find completely impenetrable; deliberately ungraceful, it has more in common with performance art than any traditional dance style. In fact the only time somebody straps on a pair of ballet shoes there’s a piece of raw veal sticking out of each of them...I’m sure it signifies something but I couldn’t hazard a guess as to what.
Ordinarily, the documentary form can break down this kind of prejudice- you don’t have to be a fan of the subject or their work to become deeply engrossed in a well told story. Unfortunately for the non-believers, director Wim Wenders, clearly in awe himself at the choreographer’s work, has made Pina as a non-narrative documentary. The film shows a series of performances (varying from the thankfully brief to the interminably long) punctuated by talking head interviews with the dancers. Their testimonials are touching but not illuminating and the result is more eulogy than documentary. We learn nothing more about Pina other than that she was an extremely dedicated choreographer and was a great inspiration to all who worked with her. So, if like me you have little patience for contemporary dance, you may find yourself on the verge of pulling your hair out after the first half hour.
Significantly, much of the praise garnered so far by the piece is for its use of 3D- which is being proclaimed as the pinnacle of the technology so far. So if nothing else, has Pina found the rightful home for this new 3D? I fear not. Although Pina is beautifully shot, as a dance movie it is by no means flawless and the 3D at times interferes with the audience’s comprehension of the pieces. As the camera moves into the space of the dancers, what we gain in immersiveness, we lose in the spectacle of the company dancing as a whole. The film works best when Wenders takes the dancers out into the city for solos or duets but when filming staged group pieces, some of the scope is lost. The spectacle of the 3D cannot overcome the content- unless you’re a fan of contemporary dance, there is little here to recommend.
-
Linda O’Brien |
