Salomé

"Salome" contains a documentary "Making of" part ; this is better than average, giving genuine insight in a creative thought process and in the development and staging of a dance performance. However, it is the dance part which deserves the laurels by bringing vivid, vibrant life to the Biblical story.

Dance, music and acting complement each other beautifully, although it should be said that the work is better at portraying the decadent hothouse atmosphere of Herod's court than at portraying religious conviction or intimate contemplation. The costumes and make-up deserve special mention, both for their charm and for their aptness. One only needs to look at Herodias, for instance, in order to grasp her backstory : a middle-aged woman, once a great beauty, who doesn't love her straying husband anymore, but clings to him like ivy because he feeds her pride and provides her with riches and power. Here she's allowing - nay, encouraging - her husband to ogle her young daughter ; there is no doubt that she would have thrown him her young son, if that would have been more to his liking.

(By the way : Herodias' headdress, somewhere between an crown and a comb, is both original and gorgeous. Ladies with sufficient amounts of beautifully thick and long hair might want to try out the effect for themselves.)

The living heart of the ballet is an unbalanced but intelligent and majestic Salome, ably played by Aida Gomez. Her veil dance is not only superbly sensual, it is also deeply chilling. Music and choreography evoke some kind of innocent ancestral dance celebrating love and fertility, such as a dance for a bridal feast, hijacked and subverted into something entirely different. (Watch out for the gaily clapping hands, reminiscent of folk dances and pastoral entertainment.) Thus the dance becomes perverted, in the more literal meaning of the word - it is led astray and leads astray.

Well worth watching.

I'm getting really into these Saura dance movies. This one, however, I didn't much care for. It's pretty much just straight ballet, which as I've said before is a form that doesn't speak to me at all. I find it a very ineffective method of storytelling. I kind of get what people are doing and how they feel, but the "why" eludes me. I can't decode it, my brain just doesn't work that way. I need some narrative glue between the dances, or I need the dance to be more dynamic and exciting. However, I did enjoy the behind-the-scenes stuff in the first part, with dancers working out their moves, the "director" (actually an actor) giving guidance, the discussions of the music and staging. And the film is quite lovely, again utilizing a very spare soundstage and gorgeous lighting. It's just that ballet is so dull to me.

The film includes a brief intro to the actors/dancers playing the characters and some rehearsal scenes, and then we go to the show itself. The actors are amazing in this, especially Aída Gómez, who's an amazing dancer and can express Salome's thoughts and emotions flawlessly and passionately. The rest of the cast are also excellent. The production design is stunning, and perfect for the source material.

A director (Pere Arquillué) is developing a ballet giving his interpretation to the biblical tale of Salome. He explains to the dancers and crew that in his version, Salomé (Aída Gómez) is in love for John the Baptist (Javier Toca). However, the rejection of her love associated to the poison of Herodias (Carmen Villena) makes the revengeful Salomé plot an evil scheme against John the Baptist. When King Herod (Paco Mora) asks the seductive Salomé to dance for him, she makes him promises to give anything she wants. In the end of her performance, she demands the head of John the Baptist.

Carlos Saura promotes and gives a tribute to the Flamenco dance in his trilogy – "Bodas de Sangre", "Carmen" and "El Amor Brujo" and to the tango in "Tango". In Salomé, this great director shows the preparation and rehearsal of a ballet, with the director discussing representation, set decoration and lighting on the stage. The result is a beautiful ballet, full of colors and with a wonderful music score. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Salomé"

I loved this movie, and was sad when the 86 minutes were up.

This is a spectacular blend of flamenco dance, theatre, cinema and documentary that makes you want to buy a copy of anything that displays the prowess of Aida Gomez as a consummate dancer and actress.

The biblical story of Salome, John the Baptist and Herod's jealousy is well portrayed under the direction of Carlos Saura.

The musical accompaniment is well controlled but made me ache for more.

Visually splendid, as I love flamenco dancing and music. Emotionally exhausting as the drama unfolds.

Now all I need now is for the DVD to become available in this part of the planet