I went to see Wim Wenders’ new film Pina 3D, a documentary on the choreographer Pina Bausch and her Wuppeltal Tanztheater. The film as film is undistinguished, and the 3D technology added little to the power of her dances for those familiar with them in live theater. Still, the filmmaker’s ingenuity in piecing together a work from a project frustrated by Bausch’s sudden death in 2009 is admirable, combining dance footages with the dancers’ testimonials most effectively shown rather than spoken [that is, only as voice-over statements as though we are listening to their inner thoughts].
I have seen the Wuppertal performances in four programs: Für Kinder von gestern, heute und morgen (2004), Nefés (2006), Bamboo Blues (2008), and Vollmond (2010). Bausch’s dances are intensely dramatic; and they are drawn from a wide range of global sources. She is quoted as saying that she is “not interested in how people move but in what moves them.” If I were to give a single-word characterization, Bausch’s choreography is fury in contradistinction to Balanchine’s elegance, Robbins’ everyday, Mark Morris’ joyfulness, and Cunningham’s cosmic geometry. [Yes, Merce gets an extra word.]
...and the Oscar for Most Annoying Film of 2011 goes to...Wim Wenders' "Pina"! Neither fish nor fowl--it's not really a dance film, and it's definitely not a study of the artist--"Pina" deserves a Guinness Book of Records award for World's Longest Movie Trailer. This is a film about another film that hasn't been made and that, quite frankly, I would not want to see. Yes, there are sublime moments (the trolley car ride was exciting, as was the brief sequences of a dancer carrying sticks on his arms), but I couldn't wait for this film to be over. I feel as though I know less about Pina now than before I saw this picture. For a true 3-D experience about a thrilling art form that does its subject justice, see "Hugo" instead.
ReplyDeleteI will say this: "Pina" is a strong union of form and content; the film flits hither and yon, not settling on any dance for very long, or tying anything together in a coherent fashion, must as the dances themselves do (or, as the case may be, don't do).
Thank you for an alternate view. You must remember, if I may say, that the title is "Pina" and Wenders is portraying her, her energy, her fury, her vision, through her choreography as realized by the members of the Wuppertaltanztheater, rather than her choreography per se. It should not be taken as dance on film, nor as a dance film. Moreover, aside from the fact that it was a "make do" effort after her death, Pina made it clear to him from the start that she did not want to be filmed herself or interviewed. Certainly it is not Wenders' best work but it is still a nice memorial to her. Maybe the title should have been "Pina Remembered."
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