O Sol da Meia Noite

A must for fans of Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines (RIP) and Isabella Rossellini (possibly their best acting performances). This is a strong drama for fans of dance or heart-warming films. The dance scenes are excellent and they are incorporated into the film seamlessly.

Surprising performances by all: Baryshnikov is excellent to watch and listen to, and Hines and Rossellini are convincing as an inter-racial husband and wife struggling to survive in Russia. I was surprised in how well it was acted, and you may be surprised in how you will react to it. This is one of my favorite dramas/love stories.

This movie also gives us a dark glimpse into the life of those who are poverty stricken (lower class and outcasts) in Russia as well as giving you an idea of how well the rich and famous live. Remember, this film was made before the wall came down.

If exploding aliens is your type of movie, you may think this is a sappy film. But if you let yourself get lost in this movie (as all movie lovers should) you will really like this one.

Frankly, I don't see why everybody is so up in arms about the quality of this movie. I, for one, don't need to preface my review with a disclaimer that only its dance sequences can be enjoyed. I happen to think that it's a pretty excellent cinematographic work overall. Let me elaborate.

The camera work here is among the most original and clever out there. It's incredibly dynamic and energetic, offering unusual perspectives, delivering great close-ups, and skillfully capturing the sweeping wide spaces. An unusually large amount of footage is devoted to the city landscapes of St. Petersburg - a rarity in American flicks on Russian themes. It's all the more jarring, however, that despite attempts to ensure authenticity of the setting, at least the first couple of car rides seem to have been done in a stationary vehicle and plastered rather crudely against the city background. But this is a forgivable and almost charming flaw, considering the film's limited budget and the release year of 1985.

The film is a paradox of sorts, showcasing interesting performances from Rossellini and Hines, two actors who have since been totally under-appreciated. There's good chemistry between the impressionable and high-strung duet of Darya and Raymond. Jerzy Skolimovski (Colonel Chaiko) is the classical cunning villain with a Slavic flare. Baryshnikov himself seems a bit rigid and somewhat formulaic as Nikolay Rodchenko. That is when he's not dancing, of course. For when he dances, he unleashes all imaginable and unimaginable potential.

Obviously, the story line is sketched out in broad, exaggerated strokes. But I bet the filmmakers actually expected the overall theatricality to be taken with a grain of salt. Besides, the subject matter discussed wasn't keen on subtleties. The events depicted were behind-the-scenes operations all right, but they were as blunt and theatrically bizarre as can be. And as for those who think the circumstances and emotions of the dissidence and emigration (or defection in this case) experience are overblown - brush up on mid-20th century history and get a grip on things. Not only had the Big Brother's machinery of state control and suppression been well oiled for decades in the Soviet Union and its satellites, but the shadow of this absurd, merciless beast hangs over many of those nations still. Folks, the fictionalized account of Nikolay Rodchenko is merely a -slightly- glamorized and dramatized version of real life experience of countless victims of the era.

The scenes of Nikolay and Darya fleeing through the deserted streets of Leningrad and the subsequent humiliation they experience in front of the American embassy send chills down my spine every time I watch the movie. That threat and that danger are very real to me even though my emigration experience in the 1990s was simply peachy in retrospect and comparison. Just as disturbing and sobering, by the way, is Rodchenko's reception by the Americans and the so-called international community inside the gates. He to them is but a nimble exotic specimen...

Anyhow, let me dismount my high horse and reiterate, seconding the earlier reviews, that `White Nights' features superb, matchless dancing; and, to miss it is a deathly sin. Well, almost...

There are essentially four dance highlights in the movie. Choreography is mainly by Baryshnikov, Hines, and, very importantly, Twyla Tharp. Baryshnikov's duet with Florence Faure in the opening credits is bound to leave your breathless. It is sheer perfection - immensely inventive and impeccably executed. The second instance when you'll forget that you could blink and breathe is during the 11 rubles for 11 pirouettes number. He does it with a godly effortlessness. Hines' and Baryshnikov's dance studio number is fascinating to watch. And, then… Then, there's Mikhail's solo to Vysotsky's tape on the stage of the Kirov theatre. Its beauty is literally painful and words can never describe it.

If you haven't seen `White Nights' or haven't seen it more than once, you're denying yourself an unearthly pleasure. And you can snicker at my high-flown sighs and exclamations all you want :)

Forget about the plot: in this post-Soviet era (and even during that era), such a blatant praise of "Western values" is way too much of a cliché to be enjoyable.

Forget about the acting. It is well played, considering the plot.

Just concentrate on the dancing. Inspired. Passionate. The opening sequence by itself is a pure gem. And the tap dance number with Baryshnikov and Hines. And the solo number by Baryshnikov in the theater. And...

You get the picture.

Baryshinikov is the one of the best male dancers of all time. This movie allows you to see him up close and view his "process" for dancing. You can't help but watch in awe at his amazing athletic and physical feats... from the very first scene where you see him slowly lower his entire body from a headstand to lying down to seeing him dance "en pointe" in what appear to be a pair of "Keds". It isn't just seeing the dances that is amazing. It is the opportunity to see the dances from the perspective of an "insider who is sitting right there next to him -- as opposed to watching him from the audience.

This is dancing "eye candy" at its finest -- my favorite escape movie of all time.

The plot of White Nights is well-planned, the script neatly written and two relatively unknown actors as the lead men - Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines - carry this feature well. The end result is a touching, funny drama with a romantic edge. It is, therefore, a good film in its own right. But the real reason to see it is for the spectacular dancing of Baryshnikov. I last saw the film - wait for it - in 1990 but it has remained one of the most moving films I have ever seen: so much so that it inspired me to pay a sizeable sum for the pleasure of seeing Baryshnikov dance at the Sadlers Wells Theatre in London in June 1999, 9 years later, having never thought I would have the opportunity to see my school-days hero live and in person...

Gregory Hines is a good second-lead (and has been much underused in films since), providing a sparring partner for Baryshnikov both in dance - as jazz/tap dancer vs ballet dancer - and to the benefit of the script. Isabella Rosselini plays a damsel in distress, complementing the duo and providing the romantic angle, balancing the story-line.

Overall it is a well-made film, though not the best ever, and if your interest lies about as far afield from dance as the local football field it is unlikely to appeal. But for anyone wanting to see a romantic 'weepie' it can provide a good slice of entertainment for a Sunday afternoon. And as for the dancing ... well, Baryshnikov was 37 then and I have never seen such athleticism and agility in a dancer of that age. Such expressive emotions come through his steps that he needs no words.

Without the dancing the film would undoubtedly have lost its true winning power, but with it may well have provided the motivation to dance for both children and adults ... I hope you enjoy it as much as I have

9 years later it is remains one of my top 20 best films.