Polina, danser sa vie

The problem with contemporary dance is that it can end up as a parody of itself. This film is a band apart, however. Polina resonates with true passion for movement and creativity that is young, fluid and beautiful. It may look like an art film but it's actually more real than that. The struggle to find true expression of herself, the exhausting work to get there are laid out as Polina finds her way from classical to interpretive dance via improv and hip hop. Every time this film comes up on SBS World Movies, I have to dip into it again and I find something new. Europe takes dance to extraordinary heights and this film ends with Polina dancing in a duet of her own exceptional, poetic choreography that will blow you away.

It is difficult to create an acted dance film with mostly unedited performances; choreography; rehearsal; practices; auditions. A joint Russian - French production that auditioned hundreds for the roles and they chose well. The storyline is in part about the sacrifice by families and dancers to get to the highest level. Also, the search for one's self as our lead explores different dance genres. Of course since it's a film that part is somewhat dramatized, but not excessively offtrack. I think what the film misses most is the pain of six plus hours a day practices - the sprained ankles; torn muscles; bleeding feet; the weary exhaustion.

This is not a movie I would normally seek out, a fictional story of a young dancer coming of age, dialog in Russian and French with English subtitles. But my public library just added this title and there were no requests yet. So I got the DVD, I watched it, I enjoyed it.

In the DVD extras we learn that the search for the lead dancer and actress involved looking at literally hundreds of young ballet dancers. They had to be an accomplished dancer, they had to be able to act believably, they had to be able to speak French. In the end Anastasia Shevtsova, still a teenager and a ballet student in Russia, was picked to play Polina.

It is her first feature film and she is remarkably good in the role, which requires several successive character transitions. First she has to be a student for the Bolshoi, then a seeker of modern dance in France, then a budding choreographer. The crux of the story is her desire to dance, a harder worker you will not find, but eventually she realizes she is not happy just trying to perfectly perform choreography invented by someone else. She wants to express herself in improvisational dance and choreography.

Excellent movie.

Really enjoyed this film. Unlike most dance films it doesn't try to be silly or uplifting. Instead it's more akin to a moody indie film about a young woman who has been stifled all her life finally finding her voice.

The beats of the film will be familiar to anyone who has ever watched a dance film but the sincerity of the actors and the beautiful choreography makes this incredible to watch.

Loved this film! It´s so real, so transparent and beautiful. And no more comments needed.

Grateful for this experience!