10 April 2012
A rigorous two-and-a-half-hour look at ballet may seem too much for some but the veteran documentarist Frederick Wiseman yields more than you might think.
His film peers at the beautiful old Palais Garnier as eloquently as at the dancers, their choreographers, teachers and those who run one of France’s most prestigious cultural institutions.
The dance sequences shows that ballet, at its best, is an expression of movement that translates into feeling and thought.
Principally, however, this is a searching look at all aspects of the company, from its hierarchical nature to its necessary fawning on rich sponsors.
La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet (La Danse: Le Ballet De L'Opera De Paris)
Cert: PG
