Pina

Last week I went to see Wim Wenders' homage to Pina Bausch, 'Pina', a 3D dance movie.  I have to say the idea of a 3D dance movie almost intrigued me more than seeing the film initially.  The 3D worked, but I really didn't think about it that much except in certain scenes.

The film...well, I was delighted to see a long excerpt from 'The Rite of Spring', which made such a huge impact on me when I saw it in Edinburgh many years ago.  If you haven't seen it, the stage is covered with soil and the dancers become one with their environment.  It is an amazing piece live.  I sat in the stalls (note - I will mention where I sit to see things quite often as it does affect the experience) and could smell the soil and sweat.

Anyway, back to the film.  It was interesting, great to watch the dancers, hear their voices and of course to see excerpts from various pieces.  It would have been really interesting to have seen Pina in rehearsal and see how she worked, especially after hearing what the dancers said about working with her.  Of course this was not possible, but it would have been nice. 

The film was perhaps a bit over-long, but still worth seeing.  I wasn't as bowled over as I had hoped.  I would give it 3.5 out of 5.