If you like modern dance, you’ll enjoy “Pina,” a documentary about the career and work of avant-garde German choreographer Pina Bausch. However, for the general audience, there’s no way a film can capture the immediacy and personal connection of live dance. Plus much of Pina’s personal story is missing. You get a sense of what’s missing when you listen to the voiceover contributions of Pina’s dancers, who often describe her influence on their lives in terms of their personal transformation. That they loved her is obvious, but you don’t leave the theater feeling you know much about Pina, the person.
Director Wim Winders uses the 3D cameras to capture some of her dance pieces, augmented by commentary from members of her troupe. What’s off-putting is Winder’s presumption that the audience should be happy with his ‘just presenting’ some of her dances. And he uses a distracting technique of cutting back and forth from dance to talking heads. But the talking heads don’t talk. They just stare at the camera as their narration floats in voiceover. “Pina” has received critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary. I have to wonder why. 2/4/12
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