Sep 20 — PINA

From The New Yorker: 

PINA is a documentary devoid of plot, narration, and chronological structure, yet crammed to bursting with short stories-—character studies that jump out of nowhere, explode into action, then stop.

Consider the lady in the sheer black dress, who keels over in a swoon; see how her beau contrives to catch her, again and again, just before she hits the ground. Why is the woman fainting? Who is she, anyway, and what is her relationship to the guy? We know nothing, except that their needs and their fates are obviously locked together.

There are times when that lock becomes too tight and grating to bear, as when a blond figure, garbed in ice-blue, crawls through a room on all fours, while another woman shovels earth onto her, in a doomed but determined bid to bury her alive. There is no explicit sex here (the movie is rated PG), but enough of the implicit kind, alternately tender and aggressive, to make you squirm.

Pina Bausch, founder of Germany’s Tanztheater Wuppertal, was the most influential choreographer of her generation. She freed dancers from traditional constraints, turning them into actors, singers, and noisemakers. Wim Wenders is one of the most influential directors of his generation, with movies that range from 1984′s PARIS. TEXAS to the 1999 doc, BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB. Some have credited his decision to shoot PINA in 3D with revitalizing a stalled technology, and that’s how we’ll view it.

Do not miss this highlight of our fall season.

• Read the reviews
• Check IMDb’s complete credits
• Visit the movie’s official site.

PINA plays one show only, 7 p.m., Thursday, September 20, at the Empire Theatres Studio 10, 325 Prince St., Sydney. Tickets: $11; Students $7. A seasons pass for the remaining 11 fall movies costs $80. All prices include HST.