On the afternoon of November 16, it was exactly half a year since the premiere of "Then We Dancing" in the Cannes Directors' Biweekly Unit. I was fortunate enough to watch this film in front of the big screen. With a background in a small Georgian country, a lineup of amateur dancers, and an under-famous Swedish director, if it weren't for a movie theme, he would definitely not get stuck in grabbing tickets. The number of viewers and discussion enthusiasm for the film is completely incomparable with "Call Me by Your Name", which was also LGBTQ+ the year before, and it is still far behind the 18-year-old "Girl". In terms of the structure of the play, "Then We Danced" and "Please call me by your name" have many similarities. From character design to casting, Merab and Irakli can be matched against Elio and Oliver respectively. But "Then We Danced" filmed another flavor, not the fresh peaches of southern Italy, but the more intense Caucasus rose. Hormones accumulate with each dance scene, burst out to climax. Because dance directly uses body expressions to express ideas, transcends language and cultural differences, and touches the audience, there is no euphemism and jerky talk. Once the character dances in front of the camera, the emotions are released. Although Georgian dance, whether it is the Lezginka pas de deux of "male eagle and female swan" or Kazbeguri, which shows the perseverance of mountain men, is an unfamiliar art form to most Chinese-speaking audiences. Ordinary movie viewers can understand the emotions expressed by the characters in each dance, and even the intention behind the director: Under the lights of the square, Merab and Irabkli show visitors the real Georgian dance. The warm light is a symbol of their emotional warming; When Merab followed Irabkli to the bar, he gradually let go of swinging freely with electronic music, creating a contrast between modern and traditional; not to mention that after the two confirmed the relationship, Merab put on a hat and danced and slapped Irakli, passion and desire Overfill the screen. The role of emotional catharsis is direct, physical, and extroverted; but the external environment is ambiguous, depressing, and conservative, and the real situation outside the play even contrasts with the movie. Georgian choreographers did not sign their names on the staff list, fearing that public names would be persecuted by anti-conservative groups in real life. Merab in the movie is not seen by the dance coach because of lack of traditional masculinity. At the end, he is found to be gay with queer Discriminated against after bar; Irakli, who liked Merab, eventually left Merab, gave up the selection of seats in the national dance company, and obeyed his mother’s wishes to return to Batumi to marry his girlfriend; Mary, who had already realized that her boyfriend liked the same sex, chose to blind her eyes. I finished smoking the cigarettes I bought from the United Kingdom, but I kept the cigarette case and replaced it with the local cigarettes. It was still a comfort to smoke. My brother David indulged in fun and abandoned his dance career. He had to get married when he played with Armenian girls. Their resistance or obedience, sincerity or hypocrisy, are all the result of repeated expressions and compromises. The vitality and lust of the new forces, and the conservative and traditional contrast of the general environment, give the film tension. "Then We Dancing" was not perfect. I thought that Merab twisted his feet before the selection of seats in the dance group, and David messed up his part-time job in the restaurant. He was so down that he couldn't contact Irakli who suddenly returned to Batumi because of the overdue phone bill. This part is like The tambourine drum beats suddenly changed, inconsistent with the steady pace of the previous accumulation of hormones. It is true that all crises will oppress Merab at the same time, and the audience can't help sweating for Merab's hands, but it is too routine. It may also be preconceived. "Girl" is shooting Lara to resist the pain of urethral infection and bleeding and toe nails. The visual impact is far more than that in "Then We Dance". The shooting of "We Dancing" is more enjoyable. After many shots, I can feel the director's intentions even more. Contrast creates tension, which is strongly reflected in the movie. I have to mention my favorite paragraph: the two people who met again at the wedding of brother David ended their relationship. In the panoramic shot, Irakli opened the door and left the room. The back of Merab remained in the picture, and he sat on the bed feebly, and remained still for several seconds, with only sobbing. After that, I took a very difficult long-shot scheduling. The close-up shot Merab walking out of the room alone. After singing and dancing, he went through the corridors, bypassed the kitchen, and walked down the stairs to meet the mother who greeted the guests warmly. Merab was alone in the picture, out of step with the surroundings; then the movement of the camera slowed down, Merab opened the door of the house and walked out of the picture; the camera turned to the men and women who danced in Kartuli to celebrate the wedding in the room, and they did not know Merab's grief. At the end of the passage, there is an overhead shot of the great perspective. The perspective is like Irakli looking at the courtyard from the second-floor window, and found that Merab left the house alone in the shape of a single figure. Joy and sorrow complement each other, rich in color. There was also a selection scene that made all the audience breathless and breathtaking. Previous The lighting of the training room is sparse sunlight from the side windows, but the selection site is a venue with a whole row of high-opening windows to the east, and the director uses the natural light in the morning to shoot. Merab, dressed in crimson performance costumes, was soaked in the sun, like a spotlight on the stage hitting him. The dance instructor and the music player are sitting backlit, their faces are not illuminated. The coach didn't like Merab, who lacked a strong sense of strength in both body and temperament. When Merab made a maneuver error and fell to the ground, he called to stop. Thinking of Merab's practice with a wound, he didn't successfully complete a big maneuver, and naturally thought that the movie would end in a close-up shot of a bloody bandage. However, the movie continued, Merab's dance steps kept going. He got up in circles with his feet, completely abandoning the traditional aesthetic shackles of "Georgian dance can only show masculinity without leaving any space for weakness". The director deliberately used smooth and detailed slow motion to show beauty, showing him a young rose blooming in the morning light. The toes that support the body, the tight calf muscles, and the thick arms are all bursts of power. The hair, hands, and waistline are so soft, mixed with all the beauty of masculinity and femininity. The music performance ignored the dance instructor and beat the tambourine for the dancing Merab until Merab imitated the eagle's ending action perfectly. The film is so beautiful, it's worth watching for an hour and a half.
ps Only half a month after watching the movie, I write a movie review. There may be more forgetting and memory errors in the details of the movie. It will be revised and improved as soon as the resources come out.
After the resources flowed out, the small findings about the dance fragments are as follows: Merab and Irakli danced a total of three pas de deux. Irakli took the initiative in the square and Mariam birthday party. Every two people who danced together recalled the first training room. It hits it off. The two competing people have planted the seeds of love since then. The dance adapted by Merab during the selection is the same as the dance for Irakli in the early morning of the birthday party, and his love is danced again and again like this. The leader who regards Georgian folk dance as a national symbol can't stand to leave the stage early. The instructor who once couldn't understand soft nodded his head for approval, but also left hope.
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