At the Movies: ‘Pina’

Every once in a while a film comes along that leaves you shaken and stirred, moved and inspired. ‘Pina’ is one of those films. And what a comeback for Wim Wenders! It was one I eagerly awaited.

I must admit I only learnt about Pina Bausch when it was announced Wim Wenders was to make a film with her. And then I started trawling the internet to find out more about this celebrated dancer and choreographer whose pieces became legendary as did this incredible woman herself. All I can say that I regret never seeing her on stage and I am sad that I never will as she passed away just before the shoot was to commence in 2009.

The film that was to be a collaboration between two artists and friends, Pina and Wim, became a film for Pina: a truly remarkable film that left me deeply affected. Watching Pina’s pieces immortalized on screen allowed me a glimpse into the work of one of the most important choreographers of our time whilst the portraits and voiceovers of her dancers recollecting their memories of her gave me an insight into what she was like as a woman, a choreographer and a mentor and how much she was loved and respected by them. Shot beautifully in 3D watching ‘Pina’ was a breathtaking cinematic ride, the 3rd dimension adding to the emotional impact on the audience that her pieces have and making them incredibly tangible and physical. Wenders has managed to create a feast for the senses and a film you watch and deeply experience at the same time. Every frame, every scene, every movement was captured by a director whose artistic sensibility and graceful, gentle direction, as seen in his work over the years, allows for a very personal cinematic journey. Like Wenders’s fantastic 1997 ‘Buena Vista Social Club’, ‘Pina’ has heart and soul that you discover on your own gently guided by a real craftsman.

Choosing to film it in 3D Wenders has managed to turn the cinema screen into a physical space; I actually felt I was in a theatre and not just in the audience but also on stage with the dancers. Watching and experiencing Pina’s major pieces ‘The Rite of Spring’, ‘Café Müller’, ‘Vollmond’ and ‘Kontakthof’ as well as duets and solo dances filmed in and around Pina’s city of Wuppertal to a brilliant soundtrack including Stravinsky, Jun Miyake, Thom Hanreich, René Aubry and Caetano Veloso, was an unforgettable cinematic adventure, one that left me and my friend teary eyed and silent long after the lights came on and the fancy 3D glasses were returned to the cinema ushers, also making us want to dance, which we did taking over the completely empty Barbican centre after the screening. ‘Dance, dance otherwise we are lost’ Pina said once and that’s exactly what we did.

To see the trailer clickHERE