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- 2011
- PG
- IFC Films
- 1 h 43 m
- 2011
- PG
- IFC Films
- 1 h 43 m
Summary In his exhilarating new film, German master Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire, The Buena Vista Social Club) shoots in 3D to capture the brilliantly inventive dance world of legendary choreographer Pina Bausch. Wenders had conceived with Bausch a dance film like none seen before, one which would take the fullest advantage yet of new 3D technol...
Directed By: Wim Wenders
Written By: Wim Wenders
- 2011
- PG
- IFC Films
- 1 h 43 m
- 2011
- PG
- IFC Films
- 1 h 43 m
Pina
7.2
Where to Watch
Summary In his exhilarating new film, German master Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire, The Buena Vista Social Club) shoots in 3D to capture the brilliantly inventive dance world of legendary choreographer Pina Bausch. Wenders had conceived with Bausch a dance film like none seen before, one which would take the fullest advantage yet of new 3D technol...
Directed By: Wim Wenders
Written By: Wim Wenders
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 32 Critic Reviews
83
88% Positive
28 Reviews
28 Reviews
13% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 32 Critic Reviews
83
88% Positive
28 Reviews
28 Reviews
13% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The result, Pina, is the most spirited and spectacular film about dance since Robert Altman's "The Company."
You don't have to know the first thing about modern dance to be transported to an alternate state of consciousness by Pina, which is utterly free of Wenders' cloying sentimentality (perhaps because it's an elegy for a dead friend) and might be the first of his films I've loved all the way through since his 1987 masterpiece, "Wings of Desire."
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 37 User Ratings
7.2
78% Positive
29 Ratings
29 Ratings
5% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
16% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 37 User Ratings
7.2
78% Positive
29 Ratings
29 Ratings
5% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
16% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
The 3D presentation of this looks to me like the first movie actually made in the 21st century. As for some of the other comments here, I can only paraphrase Lincoln - "The good Lord must have loved the common-minded people. He made so many of them."
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This film is an event, a piece of performance art, transcending film itself, in part through its creative and lovely use of 3D (which I generally think is a waste of time) and in part through its loving treatment of the film's subject, which is not Pina Bausch, but, in my view, the dancers who worked with her for decades and became co-choreographers with her. They explode across the screen in great excursions of ecstasy which have sent me home in wonder, yet again, at the beauty of being human.
But, please be forwarned, the film starts in more difficult territory with an early work of hers resetting Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, and it takes quite a while for the jovial heart of the film to be revealed. It is worth the wait, every bit, and while I was first completely lost and untouched by the work at the beginning, over the span of the film I came to feel a real understanding of what Bausch was reaching for, and how beautifully her work was realized in these wonderful, vulnerable, liberated human beings and their amazing dancing machines. Run, don't walk, to see Pina. That is all I have to say! ;-)
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Excepting the occasional shot that forces the eye on a particular dancer, Wenders largely films the action in a way that re-creates the effect of attending a performance in a proscenium theatre – only without having to scrabble for the best seat in the house. No matter where you are, you're already in it.
For anyone with an interest in dance, Pina is a must-see. For anyone not interested in contemporary dance, Pina is a should-see. It could change your mind.
What is unambiguous is the campaign that Pina mounts, with joy and without fuss, against age discrimination; by law, the film should be screened, on a monthly basis, for Hollywood casting agents.
The cumulative effect is exhilarating and also a bit frustrating, since so many dances are included and woven together the audience does not have the chance to experience any single work in its entirety. But the power and intelligence of Bausch's approach, which at times seems more cerebral than sensual, is communicated.
Go after Pina and you're going to have to go through a mob of modern-dance
zealots first.
Never had I heard about Tanztheater or Pina Bausch before, and from the first minute of this film, I was glued to the screen. Everything, from the emotion through movement to the truly excellent soundtrack, I was transported into a new world I won't soon forget. Writer/director Wim Wenders had been following Bausch's work for years, and was convinced post her death to finish this work by the dancers in her company.With the haunting sounds of music like "Einmal ist keinmal" and the powerfully visceral, expressionist "Rite of Spring", and everything else woven into this avant-gardistic human tapestry, it's hard not to fall in love with Pina's movements brought to life by the dancers. Her art shown purely through freshly filmed choreography, with a smattering of archival footage to remind you that the origins are indeed of the past. This is dance as a series of short films, as I have never really seen before. The choice to keep the dancers mic'd works like the perfect bridge between film and reality, and the background settings and sets used deserve a special mention.Although the motifs are often gendered, there are gender-bending elements throughout, and while a lot of women are portrayed as helplessly falling down, caught and supported by men, some men too support each other. Especially the André number is particularly **** a true admirer of dance, however lacking in the practical skill myself, this was without a doubt an exciting experience for me, but I do believe that even if you have no clue about the art of dance, it will still be an evocative and gripping watch not to be missed.
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Engaging and fascinating. The film captures the wonders of Pina B's dance sense and her enigmatic character. The film flows well, uses imaginative settings for the scenes, gives you glimpses into the varied backgrounds of the dancers and leaves you enchanted. Wonderfully done.
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Pina encouraged her dancers to dance what they longed for. So this movie could have been called The Therapy of Dance. What was it like to be a child in Germany in the 20th century? The dancers, with out saying anything about their childhood, will show you. This is not American "So You Think You Can Dance" expressionism. I'm American and was abused by Germans as a child, so I could watch the beauty of the dancer's movements and the beastliness of the acted abuse. Not everyone will want to see this.
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The dancing was fine, but the symbolism is always the same: Self doubt, sex, self doubt, relationships, self doubt, sex. And the costumes and sets are always about the same. Which gives me the impression that Pina is a one-trick-pony.
The dancers are asked to talk about Pina, but they only talk about themselves. After watching the documentary, I have learned nothing about Pina. And all the time, everyone had this inflated sense of how magically brilliantly super duper great Pina is. This is some of the most pretentious people I've ever seen.
But then, halfway through the movie, I realized that this film isn't a showcase or exploration of Pina at all. This film is a documentary about a dance-cult. This is a documentary about the self-doubting, upper-middle class children who were **** into this bohemian cult of inflated self-importance and made to act out their own insecurities (in dance) for the one authoritarian figure they ever respected. Pina, whether she was aware of it or not, had become a sort of dance-prophet.
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Very disappointing. Unless the sight of dirty, sweaty dancers is of interest, you will be turned off, as was I.
The movie offers little insight on Pina's life. Once again, "The emperor has NO clothes."
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Production Company
Neue Road Movies,
Eurowide Film Production,
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF),
ZDFtheaterkanal,
ARTE,
Tanztheater Wuppertal,
L'Arche Editeur,
Pina Bausch Foundation,
Pictorion_das Werk,
Recorded Picture Company (RPC)
Release Date Dec 23, 2011
Duration 1 h 43 m
Rating PG
Genres
Tagline Dance, dance, otherwise we are lost
Website
http://pina-film.de/
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
German Film Critics Association Awards
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
German Film Awards
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
