an eloquent poetic ballet
598642
wow.just finished watching this film about an hour ago,and i'm still trying to put it into words.it's basically about an elite military bomb squad unit in Iraq,whose job is made tougher because they are still very much in a combat situation.this a very powerful moving experience.riveting right to the last frame.nail biting suspense.great acting.sometimes the quite moments speak louder and more clearly than any words can.the movie is very well constructed.its all so eloquent,like a poem,a ballet.the running time may just be shy of one hundred and thirty minutes,but it sure doesn't feel that long.i could watch this film again without hesitation.war themed movies are not everyone's cup of tea obviously,but if you are a fan of the genre,you owe it to yourself to check this film out.i haven't seen a film this good in a long time.for me,The Hurt Locker is a 5/5
178103
Accomplished Canadian poet Steve Noyes' first novel is exquisitely lyrical and perceptively realized.
 He uses language like a composer working in Sonata form - at times deftly descriptive, emotionally radiant and attuned to the nuances of cultural cross-talk, but in other passages he will create a rift suffused with melancholy and memory, then break into a glissando of wry observation, then return to his themes of longing, love and loss.
 Few contemporary novels uncover the landmines buried in such relationships with such clarity.
 Jeff Mott is nearly every middle age foreign devil in China:  curious and respectful, but often bewildered by the culture; smitten by the exotic, though mystifying, raven-haired beauties; torn by the past he cannot escape, but paralyzed by the Kafkaesque society he cannot penetrate.
 He realizes as he tells his pre-teen daughter that the Chinese they see back home are just as Canadian as they, but he and the other Westerners trying to blend into Chinese life will never be anything but lao wai - outsiders.  This conundrum of learning the language and customs, even envisioning his new life entwined with a young woman, while always being an outsider, tears Jeff in several directions.
 First, though his daughter is his emotional anchor, unresolved issues intensified by 3,000 miles of separation do not make building that bond easy.  She needs him.  He is conflicted by fatherly responsibility, but also by his growing entanglement with Bian Fu, the Chinese woman who seems to embody for him both the allure and frustration of China.
 To Noyes' credit, he does not resolve Jeff's issues easily, if at all.  Bian Fu is desirable; she hides deep secrets that belie the intimacy Jeff craves; she is as seductive as any siren who would shipwreck his life on the rocks of her needs.  Early on the reader senses the relationship is doomed.
 Counterpoint to Bian Fu are his students who genuinely like Jeff, but also matter-of-factly admit they want to learn English so as to eventually dominate all those not Chinese.  Other Western teachers are less principled than Jeff: either they remain in their ex-pat enclaves and teach as they must, or they sexually educate their female students who are nave enough to expect such behavior as part of the social contract between East and West.
 At the core of It Is Just That Your House Is So Far Away, is perhaps what mythologist Robert Graves called the insatiable yearning for the muse, if creativity is viewed, in essence, as a procreative act between the poet and his psycho-sexual anima.  For Noyes, that union is possible only by abandoning his mistress' charms for his daughter's innocence - the one fraught with lies and future regrets, the other possibility and expectation.  The poet's bad luck can be transformed into his good luck - art born of pain and deep sorrow.
 As novelist, Noyes writes as a poet, and this to his credit.  He is judicious to not over-write the lyricism; his depictions of ancient culture inhabiting modern China are intelligent and thoughtful.  Inevitably compelling, the book needs a cinematic treatment in the hands of a skillful bi-coastal filmmaker like an Ang Lee or Jia Zhangke.
1447844
This is not a dance film. This is not a biography of Nijinsky. Instead it is the examination of a great mind. Derek Jacobi becomes the "voice", reciting intimate diary entries of this enigmatic dancer - poet - madman. Visuals include vintage photographs, natural landscapes, close-ups, and dance recreations. Unfortunately, we can never know exactly how Nijinsky danced but with this film we can experience how Nijinsky "thought."  He sees himself as one with God, one with Beauty, and he trembles at a world gone awry.  This film is unique - a genre unto itself - and for this reason I give it five stars.

Viewers interested in the BALLET RUSSE might consider buying teh following VHS or DVD: "Ballet Russe," "Nijinsky," "Tribute to Nijinsky" and "Return of the Firebird". All are worthwhie movies but none are as haunting or memorable as this strange film.
3533895
Definitely a remarkable album. Rutty's music is at the same time passionately rhythmical and delightfully lyrical, profound and irreverent, elegiac and cleverly amusing. One of my personal favorites, "A Future of Tango," is able to create a unique Ruttiesque world. I imagine it being played at a pub in a post apocalyptic Buenos Aires, or at the Star Wars Cantina if the movie was directed by David Lynch. Another of my favorite tracks is "Tango Loops 1", a frantic symphonic rollercoaster able to combine with orchestral refinement the main ingredients of tango, its power and its yearning, under a witty new light. The Conscious Sleepwalker is a must have album for anyone interested in taking a glimpse not only of the future of tango, but of classical music itself.
2090013
For all of you fascinated by the Ballets Russes or Balanchine. Or those of you who have a child in ballet class.  I only knew Doubrovska from those photographs of her as the Siren in the Prodigal Son, or as the first Polyhymnia in Apollo (if you can take your eyes off of Danilova and Lifar), and from anecdotes from friends who went to SAB, who found her inspiring and endearing, albeit eccentric.  After viewing this excellent DVD, I finally understand her allure as a dancer and brilliance as a teacher.
Maria Tallchief, Allegra Kent, and Maria Calegari speak about this woman's impact on them...and it is marvelous to notice how their body language (and even cadence of speech) alters as they describe Doubrovska.  Each begins to pull their body into a more erect position, to alter the way they hold their heads. They become even more elegant.  John Taras provides thoughtful insights and continuity.  Best of all, Tanaquil Le Clerc's off-camera smoky voice adds shrewd observations which are smoothly integrated into this tale of a woman whose performing career spanned from ancien regime Russia to Diaghilev and Pavlova's adventures, and ended up bringing the best of these worlds to her American students .
Doubrovska herself-- caught on camera in 1978 --  talks charmingly about her great roles (and about working with those who created them):  Nijinska for Les Noces and Les Biches; Balanchine for Apollo and Prodigal Son ( for the last of which she demonstrates a section in someone's living room, trapped between a vitrine and a coffee table!)
And there is more.  Footage from her classes, demonstrating and giving corrections.  The process of transmission at its best, and god, is she in shape.
And then the funniest moment arrives. footage of  Alexandra  Danilova and Dubrovska in a studio in a passive/aggressive show & tell quibble over who remembers best Michel Fokine's choreography (and style!, that is of the essence) while reconstructing a section of the 1907 Le Pavillion d'Armide.  You wish they had not tried to be on for the camera and had instead spoken to each other in Russian -- to be subtitled later.  That would have been truly juicy!
Which brings me to a quibble. (Every rave review should have one).  As some of the interviews were conducted in the early days of modern technology (and thank god they were made!) the sound quality is sometimes the best it could be for then but not perfect.  Friends here in France that I've shown it to have wished for even English-language subtitles at times.  But if you are American and patient, you can get the words, so don't worry.
Now the shocker.  I could not believe the entire thing was only 36 minutes long!  I was so immersed in it, and each moment was so rich and well selected,  I thought at least an hour and a half had gone by.  Don't hesitate about buying this.  Instead of a long and fat and watery Hershey bar...you get a small and perfect and delicious truffle from La Maison du chocolat!
2375057
The video is one that you will view repeatedly, the performance tight with sensual beauty and energy. The choreography is nuanced precisely with Ms. Mitchell's poetry.
I would like to see a performance of this in person. I wish that more modern dance were available on DVD.
3443410
Inordinately beautiful and thought-provoking, this is Klein at his consummate best -- these poems, prose poems, and essays once again show why this poet must be read. The work here resounds with both plaint and celebratory clamor; Klein observes the world and himself in the distinct spheres of the present and the past, providing some of the most honest and poignant portraits of family, lovers, friends, and the fumbling gods watching over our acts of simply being alive. The work is so broad, and carries so many references; yet it is also finite and familiar -- re-visioning previous themes and giving nativity to new ones. Klein can take a ride in a car in the midst of a frozen day, and make it seem as if the world was made of magic: "The trees on the Taconic that day were miraculous looking at one point -- every branch covered in just enough ice to make it seem as though we were driving through a glass menagerie of something--just then--that might have been trees, something more musical than trees." In "When I Was A Twin," Michael Klein makes us stop and consider ourselves: How are we living? Do we love?  He helps us see to both. This is an exultant new collection from one of the great poets writing today.
1459170
Having once studied at the School of American Ballet I was enthralled by the remembrances by some of Balanchine's ballerinas. There's lots of dance footage (although I could have used more) and interesting interviews.
2313044
Excellant documentary regarding the competition for aspiring ballet dancers.  The stories and dedication of mostly children, are awe inspiring. The story centers around 6 kids aages 9-19 who are at this point ready for a competition thats accepts nothing short of perfection. Little Aron is one such yougster to watch, and the story of Michaela is absolutely heart wrenchhing. If you like ballet you will love this.  I recommend it highly.
4022100
This 1984 staging by the Bolshoi has a controversial happy ending in contrast to the usual death of Odette and Siegfried, but otherwise it demonstrates the essence of ballet at its best in the tradition of Diaghilev and Balanchine.  Natalia Bessmertnova is still soft and lyrical in the dual role of Odette and Odile. Her eminently feminine quality makes her the ideal interpreter of this classic. The elegance and magnetism of Siegfried is masterfully portrayed by Alexander Bogatyrev.

The cameras show the stage from appropriate distances allowing to see the dancers moving in space, i.e. not only the expression of their bodies and in correlation with each other, but also the dynamism of their stage crossings, which are somewhat neglected in the ballet-movies.  The facial expression and thus close-ups are secondary in the performance dance rendering the age and thus and the difference between the ages of the dancers irrelevant including 42 years of age of Bessmertnova versus only 25 of Bogatyrev.

This Grigorovich's "concept", like&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/that-of-1989-with-outstanding-Alla-Mikhalchenko/dp/B0006JHRDI/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">that of 1989 with outstanding Alla Mikhalchenko</a>&nbsp;as Odette-Odile, does not disappoint, as he was one of the world top choreographers, and the Bolshoi's non-leading dancers are superb.  The orchestra under Zhuraitis was maybe not as good as the Berlin Philharmonic, but still decent considering its secondary role. The lighting especially, but also the recording are less than perfect, though bearable especially considering the circumstance of the communist Soviet Union, in and by which it was produced.
4700823
This is a special film, giving insight and perspective into the tough, competitive world of ballet competitions. However, it's about so much more-the struggle, discipline, beauty, grace, and perseverance to pursue a dream. It's also about the importance of family and the critical support they provide in the pursuit. A thoroughly enjoyable documentary for all!
4639316
I got so impressed with this marvelous ballet performance. It has all what I always demand to hear and see of the art dance. The Royal Ballet keeps its superb and challenge level and ranks among the greatest ballets companies of the world. Principal roles dance so fine with grace and unique art of prefection and good taste. The sound of the Royal Opera House Orchestra is quite good balanced and very fine. This is the best Gisselle ballet performance I ever seen and heard up to date.
943296
I have been listening to this 1959 performance by Ernest Ansermet and L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande since I was a kid, and it is clearly at the top of my list still. I come away from other performances, both recorded and live, disappointed in comparison. I have tried to understand why. Listening for the first time to the ballet on CD, I think I finally understand. It's the impeccable and masterly phrasing. Even 16 and 32 measure blocks can be heard as sensitively shaped entities. This is announced right at the Overture. There is shape and meaning, not just successions of notes. This performance exudes musicality, and Ansermet is inspired in conducting and shaping it. Everything works. Everything is music. There are many ways for music to be exciting besides power, and this is no better illustrated than here. Every piece percolates with life and excitement from rhythm, harmony, orchestral sound, and phrasing. Tempi sound natural and never drag. The pine forest second scene of Act I is especially good. There is so much more excitement here than in performances that blast over and over, throwing up walls of exaggerated, bombastic sound as a way of generating excitement. Here the sound remains clear and transparent. You can hear beneath and through things, and Tchaikovsky's creativity in bass and inner lines and color itself generates excitement without needing forcing. And then, in the Pas de deux, Ansermet delivers the heroic climax of the ballet, beautifully shaped, beautifully timed, and overwhelming. This is a great gem. We may have heard The Nutcracker a hundred times too often, but not this performance.
3784555
One of the most interesting and striking aspects about these excellent productions by the Mariinsky Theatre of two of Stravinsky's most famous ballets is the elegance of the dancing.  Just compare the Russian company's performance of LE SACRE with that of the Joffrey Ballet (available on YOUTUBE in a watchable transcription of the original NPR broadcast, part of its "Dance in America" series), and you'll be immediately struck by the more secure technique of the Mariinsky dancers as opposed to that of the somewhat faster, more percussive and angular(emphasizing sharp angles) performance by the Joffrey. I found the Joffrey somewhat detached and slightly mechanical in their rendering of Part 1, and not as effective as the newer Russian version reviewed here. However, it's definetly worth comparing these two versions in Part 2, since the Joffrey's Young Girls are very effective in their parts, and Beatriz Rodriguez as The Chosen One is really outstanding in the Sacraficial Dance, showing palpable fear as well as generating real excitement. In contrast, Alexandra Iosifidi, the Mariinsky's Chosen One, is perhaps a bit less convincing, not showing as much emotion, but still very, very good. But overall, this new Mariinsky production is far superior in all the important areas, including their greater fluidity and elegance of performance, undoubtedly because this reproduction of Nijinsky's original choreography has been available for about twenty years by now, and because Valery Giergiev is a great conductor who generates more excitement in this live performance. (The Joffrey seems to be in a studio).

  The FIREBIRD is given an equally splendid performance, with interesting differences in contrast to the studio performance seen on Decca's wonderful "Return of the Firebird," which includes equally fine productions of "Petrushka" and Diagelev's ballet based on "Scheherazade."  If you have a copy of that DVD and this new Mariinsky DVD, you'll be able to treat yourself to a profound experience of the evolution of some of the greatest ballets ever created because you'll realize that Stravinsky wrote the music of his first three ballets to be danced to, and that specific parts of the music correspond to specific parts of a story.  You'll never listen to the music in the same way after you see what it was created for.
1226721
This is a lovely documentary/film made in conjunction with the 2002-3 exhibit "Degas and the Dance," the curators of which are featured commentators:  one is an art historian, the other a former dancer and ballet instructor who specializes in late 19th Century French dance.  Together, they paint a vivid and informative picture of Degas' life-long relationship with the Paris Opera.

This is not a biography of Degas; it is an exploration--through his art--of his fascination with dancers and his obsession with perfection.  The program features many of his well- and lesser-known paintings and pastels, with enough intelligent discussion and close-ups to keep most viewers happy.  It goes further, though, to show  (through re-enactments) Degas' working methods and his restless experimentation with alternative mediums and techniques.  We see him meticulously pose models in his Montmarte studio, then use the sketches of individual dancers to compose complex classroom and backstage scenes--often over and over again.  We're treated to a demonstration of  Monotype printing, and examples of  how he sometimes used these as underpaintings for pastels.  We get a peek at lovely fan-shaped paintings, a glimpse of an etching, and a very cool side-by-side look at actual photographic negatives and the corresponding finished works of art.  We watch Degas creating the wax model for his "Little Dancer" bronze, and learn why his subsequent sculptural efforts were for his personal use only.  This film does a reasonably good job of showing both the breadth of Degas' dance works (oils, pastels, prints, sculpture, etc.) and their chronological progression from realistic to abstract.

"In art, one is never entitled to disregard what is true." Degas had seemingly-unrestricted access to the Opera and its dancers, so this film goes into some detail about the world of the dancers in the artist's time.  He disregarded the glamor to focus on their reality of long hours, hard work, sore feet and unnatural movements. We get a fairly un-sugarcoated depiction of wealthy patron/predators who frequented the performances--then understand why they show up in the shadows of Degas' paintings.  The works of art and re-enactments are interspersed with scenes of present-day dancers and the glorious Paris Opera House.  The commentators are knowledgeable and they clearly love Degas and the ballet; and the film is beautifully presented and scored.

The DVD extras, while not extensive, are well worth viewing.  There are brief, but informative, audio dialogues on nine of the featured works;  as well as deleted scenes, including one showing original set models (maquettes) for ballet productions Degas attended, a trip to the artist's pastel supplier, and extended discussions of the artwork.  I was disappointed in the "Timeline" feature, which promised a detailed timeline with 30 rarely-seen works of art--but this just wasn't the case (or maybe I was simply unable to access it...).  The only black mark on this otherwise-terrific disc.
4364727
Since Harry y Tonto in 1974 was exhibited, no other film had acquired such poetic dimension and expressive eloquence beauty like this one.

We are in Patagonia (Argentine) a vast  and lonely territory, the most emblematic wasteland in Latun America, like we made reference to Colorado Canyon, for instance.

This landscape works out as a perfect background  to remark the existential loneliness of this simple man whose kindness nestles in his gaze. Thanks to a favour he makes in the middle of the road, he will be rewarded with a dog named "Bombon la chien" , proceeding from a distinguished breed. Since that moment we will engage ourselves with this revitalizing twist of fate in his life around the sympathy and unpredictable subsequent actions.

A movie whose admirable narrative simplicity still demonstrates you don't need a big budget to build a sensitive and thoughtful film.

Don't miss it!
3175958
Tchaikovsky composed one of his most beautiful musics for that old tale in which a prince will come to free the white swan who is a princess but the prince will fall in love with the adventurous and enterprising black swan and that will cause the death, the suicide of the white swan. Charming Princes are no longer what they used to be: they want to choose their princesses. Princes have been liberated from simple predetermined stories, especially when there is un ugly black duckling in the flock.

The cruelty and the difficulty of the choreography is that the same dancer is supposed to be both the white and the black swans. Two styles, two genres, two universes that are so antagonistic and so mutually hostile, that it leads to a drama every night. If the dancer identifies with that impossible and schizophrenic situation it is more than a drama, it becomes a tragedy.

The genius of this film is to invest and embed the dancer in a personal situation that leads to death in a way or another. She is the daughter of a dancer who stopped dancing at the age of twenty-eight when she got pregnant, without a father and twenty-eight is old for a dancer. She never was anything but a member of the chorus line. She carries her daughter at arm's length into realizing the dream she has never been able to realize herself: to become the Swan Queen. She supports her, helps her, takes care of her in the most stifling way imaginable.

She thus stifles in her any kind of personal libido, love instinct. That makes the daughter awkwardly constantly scratch her shoulders. But when she starts embodying the Janus double-face Sawn Queen, the darkest impulses surge up and find their way out in a fantasy-driven nightmare. She explodes in unsatisfied or self-satisfied sexual impulses. She develops a strong hatred for her body-double, a body-double which is normal practice with ballet stars.

The worst is till to come because her mother who wanted her to be what she herself has not been able to be is also the one who wants to prevent her daughter to do what she has not herself done, hence to succeed better than her. This conflict between the mother and the daughter is also schizophrenic. The dancer can identify perfectly with the paranoid psychotic Swan Queen and live the fate of the white swan right to the bitter end of its death.

The music is the most beautiful music you will ever hear but do not get trapped by the poisonous syrup that flows from the notes. The candy is laced with ecstasy if you are lucky, more probably with arsenic if you are really lucky, because then you can evade this unbearable world. And that is a phenomenal liberation, to die when the audience in the house is frantically calling for you after the show.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU