Pina (film)
Encyclopedia
Pina is a 2011 German 3D
dance film directed by Wim Wenders
. The film premiered Out of Competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival
. The trailer features the song "Lilies in the Valley" by Jun Miyake
. The film has been selected as the German entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
at the 84th Academy Awards
.
During the preparation of the documentary about Pina Bausch
she died unexpectedly. Wim Wenders cancelled the film production, but the other dancers of Tanztheater Wuppertal convinced him to make the film anyway. It now shows these other dancers, talking about her and dancing in her honor, not just in the theater, but most of the time at various outdoor locations.
in the Tanztheater
("dance theater") style; Bausch is a leading exponent of Tanztheater, and the film consists of her work, but she is rarely seen in the film, and died prior to the film coming out. The four pieces are titled Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring
), Café Mueller (a café in the German town of Solingen
, where Bausch grew up), Kontakthof, and Vollmond. These are complemented with interviews and further dance choreographies, which were shot in and around Wuppertal
, Germany; the film has scenes showing the Wuppertal Schwebebahn, which is also one of the dance locations.
In the first piece, Le sacre du printemps, the dancers of the Tanztheater Wuppertal are moving about an unusual place – the stage is covered by a thick layer of peat, and light moves are impossible on this dance floor. This was intended, because in the ballet a chosen virgin is sacrificed to the god of spring. The following section, Café Mueller, describes a place where Pina often stayed when she was a child. In a simple setting consisting of some tables and chairs and doors, a small woman dressed in white is entering the café. Two more women, one of whom is obviously blind, appear. They hesitate to step further, as the tables and chairs are obstructing their way. Two men come around and try to remove these barriers. Eventually the blind woman and one of the men stand face to face. The second woman wraps her arms around the other men, but she slips. This part repeats and seems to remain in an infinite loop. The piece is about searching. The next piece, Kontakthof, has dancers of different generations. It describes a situation in dance school at the beginning of 20th century. The piece consists of multiple performances with actors of different ages. The film merges this different performances to one scene, which shows the various abilities of the dancers. In the final piece, Vollmond, the whole stage is flooded. The scenery contains just one large rock and some chairs. At the end of the film, the actors face the audience on a small path with a brown coal mining region in the background to an open end.
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
dance film directed by Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
. The film premiered Out of Competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival
61st Berlin International Film Festival
The 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 10 to February 20, 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the President of the Jury. The Coen Brothers film True Grit opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total during the event, to 20,000 attendees from 116...
. The trailer features the song "Lilies in the Valley" by Jun Miyake
Jun Miyake
Jun Miyake is a Japanese composer and trumpeter.-External links:* - official website...
. The film has been selected as the German entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 84th Academy Awards
84th Academy Awards
The 84th Academy Awards ceremony will honor the best films of 2011 and will take place on February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. It will be televised in the United States on ABC. The host was originally going to be Eddie Murphy. However, after Brett Ratner resigned as...
.
During the preparation of the documentary about Pina Bausch
Pina Bausch
Philippina "Pina" Bausch was a German performer of modern dance, choreographer, dance teacher and ballet director...
she died unexpectedly. Wim Wenders cancelled the film production, but the other dancers of Tanztheater Wuppertal convinced him to make the film anyway. It now shows these other dancers, talking about her and dancing in her honor, not just in the theater, but most of the time at various outdoor locations.
Plot
The film presents some of the most noted dance pieces by Pina BauschPina Bausch
Philippina "Pina" Bausch was a German performer of modern dance, choreographer, dance teacher and ballet director...
in the Tanztheater
Tanztheater
The German Tanztheater grew out of German expressionist dance in Weimar Germany and 1920s Vienna. The term first appears around 1927 to identify a particular style of dance emerging from within the new forms of 'expressionist dance' developing in Central Europe since 1917. Its main exponents...
("dance theater") style; Bausch is a leading exponent of Tanztheater, and the film consists of her work, but she is rarely seen in the film, and died prior to the film coming out. The four pieces are titled Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring
The Rite of Spring
The Rite of Spring, original French title Le sacre du printemps , is a ballet with music by Igor Stravinsky; choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky; and concept, set design and costumes by Nicholas Roerich...
), Café Mueller (a café in the German town of Solingen
Solingen
Solingen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the northern edge of the region called Bergisches Land, south of the Ruhr area, and with a 2009 population of 161,366 is the second largest city in the Bergisches Land...
, where Bausch grew up), Kontakthof, and Vollmond. These are complemented with interviews and further dance choreographies, which were shot in and around Wuppertal
Wuppertal
Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...
, Germany; the film has scenes showing the Wuppertal Schwebebahn, which is also one of the dance locations.
In the first piece, Le sacre du printemps, the dancers of the Tanztheater Wuppertal are moving about an unusual place – the stage is covered by a thick layer of peat, and light moves are impossible on this dance floor. This was intended, because in the ballet a chosen virgin is sacrificed to the god of spring. The following section, Café Mueller, describes a place where Pina often stayed when she was a child. In a simple setting consisting of some tables and chairs and doors, a small woman dressed in white is entering the café. Two more women, one of whom is obviously blind, appear. They hesitate to step further, as the tables and chairs are obstructing their way. Two men come around and try to remove these barriers. Eventually the blind woman and one of the men stand face to face. The second woman wraps her arms around the other men, but she slips. This part repeats and seems to remain in an infinite loop. The piece is about searching. The next piece, Kontakthof, has dancers of different generations. It describes a situation in dance school at the beginning of 20th century. The piece consists of multiple performances with actors of different ages. The film merges this different performances to one scene, which shows the various abilities of the dancers. In the final piece, Vollmond, the whole stage is flooded. The scenery contains just one large rock and some chairs. At the end of the film, the actors face the audience on a small path with a brown coal mining region in the background to an open end.
See also
- List of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of German submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film