German Oscar BFLF Entry: Pina in 3D a documentary by Wim Wenders
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With almost no input I have selected the start time of 515 PM. My reasoning is that the next show would not end until about 930 PM. We will meet in front of the theater at about 445 PM.
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There is an intoxicating trailer here: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/pina-3d/5521... (http://www.moviefone.com/movie/pina-3d/55210/trailers)
Director(s): Wim WendersMPAA Rating: Not Rated Genre(s): Family,Musicals
IFC Center 1.4 mi.323 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10014 | (212)924-7771
Sun 5:15pm (https://www.movietickets.com/purchase.asp?afid=moviefone&house_id=9598&perfd=01152012&edata=30&movie_id=112941&perft=17:15) (approximate end time: 7:01)
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Pina 3D
Plot"Dance, dance, or we are lost." Pina Bausch's final words summarize her life and provide the inspiration for acclaimed director Wim Wenders' 0-('Wings of Desire,' 'Buena Vista Social Club') breathtaking tribute to the legendary choreographer. Bausch and her Tanztheater Wuppertal elevated dance into brilliantly subversive new expressive realms, and in this exhilarating film Wenders captures the raw, heart-stopping intensity of the movement and in stunning 3D transforms it into a transcendent cinematic experience. An official selection of the Berlinale, Telluride, Toronto and New York film festivals, and now Germany's official entry for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, 'Pina' features interviews with and performances by Bausch's beloved original company members, and offers an indelible image of an artist who went the full distance in her uncommonly rich creative life.
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FROM VARIETY (regarding the version shown at a film festival):
Pina (Documentary -- Germany-France) By LESLIE FELPERIN (http://www.variety.com/biography/2414) Offering further proof that the latest 3D technology is good for a lot more than just lunging knives and fantastical storylines, Wim Wenders' dance docu "Pina" reps multidimensional entertainment that will send culture vultures swooning. A tribute to Pina Bausch, one of modern dance's most groundbreaking choreographers, pic lets the artist's work speak for itself via big, juicy slabs of performance. The lack of context could frustrate Bausch neophytes, while purists may object to some stylistic decisions, but if marketed right, "Pina" could pirouette at arthouse venues before making graceful leaps into ancillary.
Wenders and his countrywoman Bausch had discussed collaborating for decades, but it was only after the helmer saw what new digital 3D techniques could do that he decided to use the format for a film about her. After all, as several pop music-themed pics ("Step Up 3D," "StreetDance 3D") and ballet-focused TV specials have proved, stereoscopic techniques go particularly well with dance, affording auds a chance to appreciate the geometry of bodies in motion in a very palpable way.
Unfortunately, Bausch died very suddenly in 2009, just as the film was going into pre-production. As a consequence, the resulting pic made in collaboration with her company, the Tanztheater Wuppertal, reps a tribute to her memory. Onscreen subtitles emphasize that this is to be a film "for Pina" rather than about her, which is why the dancers sporadically interviewed here speak in such hushed, reverent tones. Sadly, they reveal remarkably little about their mentor except that she was an imposing figure and, natch, a great genius.
Whether Bausch herself would have liked the film is a good question. Famously exacting about how her work was seen (she and her troupe were the subjects of several documentaries, including Chantal Akerman's 1983 "On Tour With Pina Bausch"), she might not have cared for the way the dancing is edited to show different angles, or the manner in which some performances are framed so only portions are visible. Hardcore dance enthusiasts are likely to be the pic's strongest critics.
On the other hand, non-experts may feel frustrated that "Pina" steadfastly refuses to provide any background information or expert commentary, beyond a few tantalizing bits of archival footage showing Bausch herself onstage and in rehearsal.
Instead, the pic is admirably, almost austerely focused on the work itself, and is structured around key pieces from her repertoire, performed by her company of four, making the docu a must-see for auds who have never had the chance to see Bausch's ensemble onstage. First up is Stravinsky's signature "The Rite of Spring," which premiered in 1975, and which features a stage full of earth the dancers leave traces in as they perform. Next comes the haunting, Purcell-scored "Cafe Mueller" (1978), a physically challenging, dreamlike piece in which many of the dancers keep their eyes closed, suggesting sleepwalkers. (An excerpt from this appears in Pedro Almodovar's "Talk to Her.")
Wenders creatively edits "Kontakthof," filmed partly before a live aud, to juxtapose performances by dancers in three different versions featuring teenage, middle-aged and senior dancers. The last act excerpts the spectacularly elemental "Vollmond" (2006), for which Bausch's set designer Peter Pabst devised an onstage waterfall that ends up soaking the troupe, while some of the pas de deux and solo turns unfold around Wuppertal, the southern German burg where the Tanztheater was based.
These little excursions beyond the proscenium arch, along with the somewhat wispy tone of what little talk is heard, reveal Wenders' hand most. Otherwise, his presence is barely felt, allowing the dancers and Bausch's talents to rightly take centerstage. If nothing else, "Pina" underscores the fact that Wenders does his best work in docus now.
Occasionally, background figures in motion look a bit stuttery, a side-effect of the stereoscopic technique, but on the whole, tech credits are topnotch.
Camera (color, HD, 3D), Helene Louvart, Joerg Widmer; editor, Toni Froschhammer; music, Thom Hanreich; musical directors, Mattias Burkert, Andreas Eisenschneider; music supervisor, Milena Fessmann, Beckmann; art director, Peter Pabst; costume designer, Marion Cito, Rolf Borzik; sound (Dolby Digital), Andre Rigaut; re-recording mixer, Mattias Lempert; choreography, Pina Bausch, stereographer, Alain Derobe; 3D supervisor, Francois Garnier; artistic consultants, Dominique Mercy, Robert Sturm; associate producers, Heiner Bastian, Stefan Ruell, Stephan Mallmann, Mohammad Zahoor. Reviewed at Berlin Film Festival (noncompeting) and Toronto, Feb. 13, 2011. Running time: 104 MIN.