- Actors: Sergei Polunin
- Director: Steven Cantor
- Film Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language: English, Russian
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- Region: Region 1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: Not Rated
- Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO
- DVD Release Date: January 17, 2017
- Run Time: 85 minutes
Some
documentaries are driven by a message at the center of the narrative, meant to
convince the audience of a certain view. Other documentaries are more
biographically focused, concerned with information rather than opinion.
Watching Dancer, up to the very end
of the documentary about Ukrainian ballet dancer Sergei Polunin, I was unclear
what the purpose of the film was. At times it seems to be a straightforward
biographical documentary, albeit one without much resolution beyond the release
of a popular YouTube video, and then there are moments when the film seems to
investigating the sacrifice a dancer must make in order to succeed, but
filmmaker Steve Cantor’s message ultimately feels noncommittal. Those who enjoy
the dancer’s work already may find the film enjoyable for the onstage footage
alone, but the documentary offers little for those not already a fan.
Dubbed the “bad
boy of ballet” for his excessive partying, tendency to dance while high on
drugs, and excessive tattoos, Polunin should probably also have this title due
to his habit of quitting dance companies and threatening to retire from dancing
altogether. At the very least, if the filmmakers wanted an unbiased portrayal
of the dancer, they should have investigated the bad habits beyond celebrating
the way it made him look like a rebel. While I’m sure there are many dancers
who use drugs in order to perform, Dancer
does not investigate this, nor do they press for more information after we
witness Polunin downing his special concoction prior to taking the stage. This
documentary is clearly a fluff piece, made to appease fans while rarely
criticizing the flaws of its subject.
Instead of
investigating the bad habits, Dancer
attempts to explain them away by pointing the finger elsewhere to lay the
blame. It isn’t Polunin’s fault that he drinks excessively and parties so hard
that he becomes burnt out, because he can blame his parent’s decision to send
him away in order to study dance and eventually become the youngest principal
dancer for the Royal Ballet in England.
Rather than forcing him to take responsibility for the drugs, the documentary
talks about the physical pain that comes with ballet dancing. There is no depth
to the film beyond a blatant attempt to make Polunin as sympathetic as
possible, despite some questionable behavior in his past and present.
The
justification of this behavior also comes in the form of dance footage, which
is undeniably impressive. This is perhaps the worst argument of the film,
seeming to imply that any behavior and substance abuse is acceptable, as long
as the end result is remarkable enough to warrant it. Without his looks and
talent, Polunin would be unlikely to get away with much of his behavior without
criticism, in real life or in this documentary.
Even if you are
a fan of Polunin and don’t mind the blatant flattery of the film, it is a movie
that feels incomplete, because the narrative is unfinished. Despite having
found great success at several dance companies across the world, the climactic
point of success in the documentary is a YouTube video, which seems slightly
insulting to the art form and its rich tradition. While there is definitely
some validity in mentioning the success of the video David LaChapelle created
of Polunin dancing to Hozier’s “Take Me to Church,” I don’t exactly agree that
a viral video was the peak of his success, as the documentary seems to imply. I
find the many sold out performances with respected dance troupes far more
impressive than a video which can be watched for free by fans without having to
leave their home.
The DVD includes
a few deleted scenes and the trailer.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 4/10
Special Features: 2/10
No comments:
Post a Comment