Premiered at this year’s Berlin Film Festival and set to hit British screens on 22nd April, Wim Wenders’ feature length dance film portrays the exhilarating and inimitable art of the great German choreographer, Pina Bausch who died in 2009.
Having had her work featured in many films from Fellini’s And the Ship Sails On (1982) to Almodóvar’s award-winning Talk to Her (2002), Wenders’ film marks the first time that her work is screened in 3-D.
Beautifully-shot, we accompany the dancers beyond the confines of the theatre as they explore the city and the surrounding industrial landscape of Wuppertal – the place that was the home and centre of Bausch’s creative life for more than 35 years.
Wenders (director of Wings of Desire and The Buena Vista Social Club) had known Bausch for over 20 years and the idea of working together on a film had been discussed for almost as long. Focusing on a selection of her most classic works from the 1970s – Le Sacre du Printemps, Kontakthof and Café Müller – the project was almost abandoned after Bausch’s unexpected death, two days before filming commenced.
However, encouraged by her family, company and dancers, filming resumed, albeit in a revised format. Interweaving excerpts from stage with interviews with the dancers and featuring some powerful solo performances, the film invites the viewer to embark on a sensual, visually stunning journey. Enhanced by the 3D effect, the viewer is reminded of the ‘sculptural’ quality to all of Bausch’s works and can revel in Wenders’ luscious cinematography. Freed from the constraints of transporting dance to the big screen, Wenders manages to include a dimension of space in the film, and succeeds in creating a fitting testament to one of the 20th century’s greatest choreographers.
Pina 3D
Certificate: 12A
Dir: Wim Wenders 2011/Ger/106mins
Rod Rhule
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