Making its Canadian debut at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, Pina, the breathtaking new film from cinematic master Wim Wenders, came very close to not being made at all.
Shortly before shooting was scheduled to begin in 2009, the film’s subject, choreographer and artistic genius Pina Bausch, died suddenly — just days after being diagnosed with cancer.
Director Wenders (The Buena Vista Social Club, Wings of Desire), a virtuoso in his own way and one of Germany’s most illustrious postwar filmmakers, almost abandoned the project, but when Bausch’s superb dance troupe decided to continue on, so did he — the result of which is this visually stunning and magnificent tribute to a talented artist.
Bausch’s absence is felt throughout, but the film is in no way a traditional documentary. The troupe’s trademark dances and Bausch’s amazing choreography become the heart and soul of this beautifully imagined homage to one of the world’s great artists.
With amazing skill and technique, Wenders opens up each dance, employing the streets and parks of Wuppertal — where Bausch’s company, Tanztheater Wuppertal, is based — as exciting backdrops to some of her best-known productions.
The sheer joy, abandon, humour and physicality of Bausch’s choreography are on full display here, and Wenders has done a masterful job capturing the essence of her work.
Pina is a revelation — a haunting elegy that is entrancing and truly inspiring. Wenders shot the film in 3D to fully capture this brilliantly inventive dance world.
Nominated for this years’ Documentary Feature Film Academy Award, Pina lands somewhere between a concert movie and documentary — an interest in modern dance isn’t necessary to enjoy the film. Pina screens on this Sunday 4 at 5 p.m. at the Rialto Theatre in Courtenay.
Film series tickets are on sale now. Tickets are $11 each, available at the CVAG gift shop in downtown Courtenay and Videos N More in Comox.
If the film does not sell out, tickets will also be available in the Rialto Theatre lobby before the film — cash only, exact change appreciated.
All films are on Sundays at 5 p.m. at the Rialto Theatre in Courtenay at the Driftwood Mall and are fundraisers for the Comox Valley Art Gallery.
For updates and more information on the films, visit www.comoxvalleyartgallery.com or call 250-338-6211.
— Comox Valley Art Gallery
