Most of the dance-themed movies have enough dance, and it's good to appreciate the body. But dance itself has multiple social meanings and functions, and there are always some movies that have higher pursuits, such as "Then We Danced".
Telling a story that takes place in Georgia, shortlisted for the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes 2019.
Very strange country, isn't it.
A small country with a population of more than three million, it belongs to Asia and is a member of NATO.
The language the characters speak is naturally incomprehensible.
But dance uses body to convey emotions, but it is not affected by language boundaries.
The dance in the film is to show Georgian folk dance. Even if you haven't seen it before, you can see the meaning from the actors' limbs.
The male protagonist Merab is a non-big name dancer in the Georgian National Dance Company. He practiced dancing with his female partner Mary all the year round, and met a new dancer Irakli, who started a growth story of orientation and self-discovery.
Merab has been dancing since he was a child. His grandmother and parents were both dancers, and his brother David also danced in a dance company.
His dad said, "There is no way out of Georgia dancing, only dogs choose to dance." Indeed, Merab's family was poor, his parents were divorced, his father became a construction worker, his mother became a decadent woman, and his elderly grandmother took care of the housework. In fact, they When he was young, he had appeared on some larger stages and had a presence in the Georgian dance world.
The two brothers also have very different personalities. Brother David obviously doesn't want to follow the same path as his family. He is very rebellious and often avoids dance troupe training. However, the congenital conditions did not meet the requirements of the dance company, and they were often supervised to find faults, making it difficult to get ahead.
Even dancing in the National Dance Company, it is difficult to make a living from dancing, so Merab has to work in restaurants to make money.
What is the style of Georgian folk dance? In the words of the film: male dancers should be like nails, like a monument, female dancers should be pure and flawless, male and female dancers should not make eye contact, Georgian dance is not sexual, Georgian dance does not strive for perfection, but Must convey the national spirit.
Merab has a thin body and a gentle personality, and is suspected of being "too soft".
In addition, the accompaniment of the Georgian dance is cheerful, with intense drum beats, a lot of rotation, and emphasis on leg movements.
The story between Merab and Irakli is very similar to the story of Elio and Oliver in "Call Me by Your Name", and even the actors in the two films are very similar in temperament, one is juvenile and the other is hormones.
They were both attracted by outsiders. After the ambiguous feelings accumulated, the two crossed the thunder pool, but the sweet period was very short, and outsiders were objectively not allowed to face up to their sexuality. After leaving, they wanted to marry a wife. The pain of adolescence turned into spring mud to nourish. Teenage growth.
The actors in this film are all amateurs, and they only have this film and television work under their names.
The male protagonist, Levin Gerbachyani, is also acting for the first time. He should be a professional dancer, but he was nominated for the best actor at the European Film Awards last year with this film.
There is no information about him even on imdb, and his age is unknown, but he performed a youthful feeling in the film.
Not a handsome guy at first glance, but he has a good taste, a lean body, and he doesn't look tall.
Like Sweet Tea, Levin showed a feeling of pity, but Levin even showed a sense of sigh.
Elio grew up in a wealthy Kochi family with enlightened parents. As long as the experience of same-sex love follows his heart, the story is still in the Italian countryside on vacation. Merab is a poor family living in the capital of Georgia. His parents can't give him shelter, and the environment is not civilized. The main dancer of the dance group was found to have homosexual love. The end was miserable. Merab was seen going to a gay bar and was bullied by the team. . And Irakli is not a romantic foreign student like Oliver. Irakli also breathes Georgian air all his life, and also has difficult family conditions and marriage pressure.
The director still kindly arranged a warm-hearted Mary for Merab. Mary found that her prospective boyfriend Merab liked the same sex, but after a little jealous and angry, she still felt more distressed for Merab, and she was the only one in Merab's last dance of growth. He also let his elder brother David take the place of his parents and gave Merab protection and support when he needed it the most. The unreliable elder brother who was almost unreliable in the whole process suddenly came here, and the warmth effect was doubled.
Georgian dance demands masculinity and never allows softness. Some traditional dance passages that were softer before were changed 50 years ago.
Fifty years ago, it was a question, which was related to the history of Georgia's national development. I didn't know much about it, so I couldn't do an in-depth analysis.
But it is conceivable that Merab's father's current "weakness" and his mother's current "impureness" are related to this, because politics will affect all aspects of society, including dance, music and other art forms.
There are several famous dance scenes in the film. Merab and Irakli rehearse together for the first time for a pas de deux. Merab and Irakli show real Georgian dance to street tourists. Merab dances a provocative dance to Irakli late at night when they are out for a birthday party. Merab At the end of the interview, I was injured and danced a Georgian dance that broke through the masculine requirements. They were all very moving, emotional and meant to promote the plot, and the dance under the camera was very infectious.
After watching "Then We Danced", we may still not know the Georgian country and Georgian folk dance.
But at least we will be moved by this teenager who is dedicated to dancing Georgian dance.
Presumably Merab will jump out of Georgia and out of his own future as his brother wishes.
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