And The Ship Sails On

Pina

***1/2 out of ****

Directed by: Wim Wenders

Starring: Dancers from the Tanztheater Wuppertal

Running time: 103 minutes

German choreographer Pina Bausch is a towering influence in modern dance, even since her death in June 2009. Director Wim Wenders, also German, had been preparing a film about Bausch to begin production that summer.

After her passing, the dancers from her Tanztheater (“dance theatre”) in Wuppertal, Germany, decided to move ahead with the film as planned, but as an expressive eulogy to their late friend.

And, what a striking and wondrous eulogy it is! Structured around several of Bausch’s most dazzling and physically demanding pieces of dance theatre, Wenders’ film – now up for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar – is a thrilling tribute to all things Pina.

The first dance, Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring), is performed on a stage covered with peaty dirt. In this Eden-like fable of sexual discovery, the female dancers dress as silk apparitions while panting, muscular men thump their way across the stage in a tribal nature.

Another memorable dance is Café Mueller, her most notable creation. Those who have seen Pedro Almodovar’s Talk to Her will recognize this riveting composition of movement.

In it, the deep stage is a room of chalky greys, with chairs and tables strewn throughout. However, the challenge comes from the visual impairment: the dancers moving through this obstacle course have their eyes closed.

In his attempt to cover as much creative ground lay by Bausch within a 103-minute running time, Wenders weaves his camera through indoor and outdoor locations – from bare stages and monorail cabins to street corners and swimming pools – as the Wuppertal dancers fret about.

The performances in Pina are never short on pure, kinetic energy. The dancers show a graceful fragility in one scene and impulses of strength in the next number. Up close, Wenders captures the expressiveness of the dancers' movements as they colour the evocative images Bausch created for them.

Breaking up the performances are personal odes from members of the company to their revered teacher, giving the audience an insight into her creative genius.

During a few of these quick intermissions, however, there is a yearning for more context of who Bausch was, as opposed to how her accomplishments helped to shape the world of modern, expressionist dance.

Nevertheless, as soon as the curtain rises again, immersing into sensual, liberating, boundlessly imaginative works of performance art, you cannot help but let the dances, completely alive, speak for themselves.

Author’s note: Pina is presented in 3D at many theatres, but even that format’s strongest detractors are praising how Wenders uses the extra dimension to capture the vitality of the dances. I did not see Pina in 3D and cannot tell you whether I stand by these accolades. However, I can imagine a director of Wenders’ intelligence knows what he’s doing.