“Dance, dance, otherwise we are lost” —Pina Bausch

Pina!

Documentary/Musical

Director: Wim Wenders

Run Time: 1 hr 43 min

2011

“Dance, dance, otherwise we are lost” —Pina Bausch

I first heard about the film Pina! last Spring. With a passion for dance, I decided to watch the film. I ended up watching it three times since I liked it so much. This review is a product of research that includes—the film Pina! including the audio commentary by Wim Wenders, the making of Pina!, interview with Wim Wenders, a booklet with details about the film and the dancers, and an interview that Bausch gave in 2007 at the Kygo Prize Workshop in Arts and Philosophy.

The idea of the project Pina! came along about 20 years before the film was even released. It was when director, Wim Wenders, saw one of Bausch’s shows and was incredibly moved by it. He began to attend Bausch’s tours every year and would always claim to make a film with her once he finds the right way to capture her enthralling dance choreographies; and he did. Unfortunately, Pina Bausch passed away a week before the intended date of the beginning of the shoot. The film that Wenders wanted to make with her then had ultimately become a film for her and in memory of her; a sincere thanks from her dancers and admirers. It was also necessary to make the film as it was the only way to keep Bausch’s life time’s worth of work alive—by capturing it through the lens.

Wim Wenders used 3D camera’s to capture the choreographies. 3D cameras work in such a way that the the camera’s, camera screens, processing and editing and projection are essentially in two’s separated corresponding to each of the eyes. It is only when we see the film that our brain combines these two separate films as one creating the 3D effect. The 3D technology caused a two year delay in the film. When Wenders first discovered 3D films, the technology wasn't as great as how he wanted it to be and so he waited for the right equipment. By using the 3D film technique, Wenders wanted to make the audience feel that they were in the space/stage of the dancer allowing them to visually feel every move of the dancer. Wenders explains how for the piece Le Sacre Du Printemps, the very beginning of the dance in 3D creates a very sensual and moving feeling; however in the normal version he has compensated the 3D by further sharpening the videos.

The style of the way that Wenders organized the video plays a crucial role in how we analyze what he had to say about Pina Bausch. Both Bausch and Wenders had mutually decided the film was not about her but her work; they had also decided that it wasn’t a documentary and for that reason Wenders’ initial plan was to not have any kind of sound except the soundtracks for the dances, but he eventually used some speech in his work. Wenders conducted interviews with all the dancers to understand their relationship with her; what they wanted to say about her (as she was no longer there to speak for herself) and to understand their stance on how or why they wanted to thank her through this film. Wenders ultimately used excerpts from the interviews, accompanying them with mute portraits of the dancers. I think this particular creative decision was a very strong part of the film as it gave the audience an insight to who Pina Bausch was and it also became a guiding factor to what otherwise could have been a boring film.

Bausch asked her dancers numerous questions with the limitation that they had to answer through dance. Wim Wenders used the same approach to make the film. He approached it with a question, rather a challenge. It was to choose and perform something that Pina laid eyes upon once upon a time. Wenders captured these exhilarating pieces throughout the city of Wuppertal, each piece carrying a memory of her. The dances were set in neighborhoods where Bausch lived and ran the Tanztheater from; this also allowed freedom for camera movement which was otherwise restricted in her four main pieces performed on stage. These shorter dances were presented as excerpts intermingled with the four main choreographies by Bausch—Cafe Muller, Le Sacre Du Printemps, Kontakthof, and Vollmond.

Pina! by Wim Wenders is an intriguing work that kept me engaged and wanting more. I enjoyed the way Wenders composed the film which, as intended, did not feel like a documentary even though it could have unintentionally and very easily gone on that route. My favorite dance from Bausch’s choreographies was Le Sacre Du Printemps. I also want to appreciate the soundtrack of the film that I have conveniently been able to find on Spotify for myself. I would definitely recommend this film to others, especially those with a passion for dance.

4.5/5

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