Dance Me to My Song

"Admirable" and "courageous" are two words that come to mind while watching "Dance Me to My Song." "Frank," "candid" and "uncompromising" can also be used to describe this Australian film about Julia, a woman with a severe form of cerebral palsy that prevents her from doing the most basic things, like getting dressed or going to the bathroom. She's played by Heather Rose, who really is afflicted with cerebral palsy, and who co-wrote the script. (I'll admit feeling acutely uncomfortable at times watching Rose's Julia as she writhes and contorts while making gurgling noises - I'm sure that says a lot more about me than the film or Ms. Rose.)

I saw this movie at the American Film Institute in Washington, D.C. (where it was shown as part of FilmFest DC '99). "Dance Me to My Song" deserves a lot of credit for refusing to blink at Julia's condition. We see her completely undressed; Julia's nakedness conveys her vulnerability without being the least bit prurient or exploitive. Julia is very much at the mercy of Madelaine, her latest assigned caregiver. And it quickly becomes apparent that Madelaine is an extremely selfish person who has no business caring for Julia or anyone else. How she uses - and abuses - Julia is at the core of this drama. Also figuring prominently in the plot is a rather mysterious man named Eddie, whom Julia manages to befriend after comically blocking his path with her motorized wheelchair.

As straightforward and unpretentious as this film is, one thing it's not is... terribly complicated. I'm hard-pressed to think of any scene where it isn't abundantly clear how we're supposed to react; everything is so clear-cut. This scene will make you smile, that one will make you shed a tear, this one will make you laugh, and that one will make you want to shout in anger. The film falls short of true greatness, IMHO, by making Madelaine a near-total witch. There are a few attempts at making Madelaine a more three-dimensional character (including a scene in which she sits by herself and cries), but in the end, it's apparent that we're just supposed to hate her. Further stacking the deck are visits from a woman named Rix, one of Julia's former caregivers who's meant to be every bit as wonderful as Madelaine is horrible. (When Madelaine gets a form of comeuppance from Rix, it's as if the audience is expected to cheer. The AFI audience didn't.) Viewers might rightly wonder: If Madelaine is so awful, why doesn't Julia get rid of her? We get something of an explanation fairly late in the film - it's implied that caregivers are hard to come by, which suggests a lot of borderlines slip through - but it doesn't really explain why Julia tolerates as much ill treatment as she does. (The movie is too preoccupied with making Julia out to be a total victim to consider the possibility of an abuser-enabler relationship.)

Also - and I think this is a legitimate point - for all the time we spend with her, I don't feel as though we get to know Julia all that well (unlike, say, the way I think we become acquainted with Daniel Day-Lewis' Christy Brown in "My Left Foot"). Part of this may have to do with the fact that Julia (and, I assume, Heather Rose) lacks the power of speech (unlike Christy Brown), and must rely on a "voice machine" to synthesize simple spoken sentences. I mourn as a lost opportunity a scene in which Eddie reads a lengthy message that Julia has left on the screen of her personal computer, a message which must have required a Herculean effort on Julia's part to type out. The camera sweeps past the monitor; we can only pick out a few phrases. (The gist of the message is summarized by the film's title.) This was our best chance to experience Julia's inner voice at length, and the movie skips over it.

Still, "Dance Me to My Song" is a strongly acted film, very much worth seeing.

A remarkable film which stays with you long after you leave the theatre

Rolf de Heer is a brave director, as those who've seen Bad Boy Bubby and The Quiet Room will know. In this film he braves the sensitive subject of cerebral palsy. Julia, a severe sufferer, is bound to her wheeelchair and can only communicate via her voice machine. Her heartless carer Madeline, is downright cruel to her. When the kind and loving Eddie enters Julia's life a strange menage a trois begins, but not quite as you would imagine. The film avoids mawkish sentimentality, and is a tribute to the triumph of the human spirit. Julia's strengths and weaknesses are all on display, as well as her sharp wit. Heather Rose who plays Julia also wrote the screenplay and gives us a unique insight into her world. This new Australian film is a must for anyone who wants to be confronted and amazed by a subject not often tackled on screen.

It appears that previous reviewers have failed to pick up upon a central theme of this unique film. Why didn't Julia just get rid of Madeline, they say? ... cardboard characters and doesn't make any sense, they say ... must be because good housekeepers are hard to come by, they say.

Of course this is a crude simplification, and what they have missed is that Julia, despite her crippling physical disability, was able to empathise with Madeline's hopelessness and despair and through a sense of unreciprocated friendship and sense of duty, refused to cut the relationship short. This is evidenced in two key scenes: Firstly, in the initial abandonment scene, there is a lingering shot of the emergency button as Julia contemplates pressing it. Later, as a post date rape follow-up, Madeline cuddles Julia and looks to her for support in bed, where a careful eye should read the compassion in Julia's face. To me this exemplifies the most compelling aspect of the film, namely, Madeline, despite her good looks and seductive sexuality, was the emotional cripple juxtaposed with the warmth and love of life displayed by Julia.

This film has given me a new perspective ...

What an excellent film. I had the opportunity to see it at Roger Ebert's overlooked film festival in Champaign, Illinois on April 22, 1999. It at this time does not have a distributor in the United States. This is unfortunate because the film is so much better than much of the crap we make here in the US. Heather Rose's performance is heartwarming and I fortunately was able to see her as a guest on the panel after the film was shown. She helped write and direct this movie and is only able to speak through a computer voice machine. The film is about the character she plays and how she is dependent on someone to care for her constantly because she is unable to do anything for herself. She unfortunately is abused by her caretaker. This is something that happens in the US (the film takes place in Australia) too often and this is a reason why this film should be shown in as many theatres as possible to raise awareness of this problem. I'm fortunate to have seen it and not wanting to give much of it away I will only say that I think it is something many people would get a lot out of.