We’re not the first people who would be lining up to watch modern dance — it’s just not our bag — but leave it to Wim Wenders to fire up our interest. A stunning trailer for the his dance film “Pina” dropped last year and suddenly the film moved quickly up our “must see” list for this year. Vibrant and dazzling, Wenders dusts off the stodgy and pretentious trappings that dance usually falls into and gives it fresh life. And it will be landing in theaters in a matter of weeks.
Sundance Selects has picked up the film that is a salute to famed choreographer Pina Bausch. The film has been in the works for a while now and was initially halted when Bausch passed away during early stages of production. However, filming picked back up and will feature a number of her pieces, including “Café Muller,” “Sacre Du Printemps,” “Vollmond” and “Kontakthof.”
Our only quibble is that we think this could have appeal to more than dance fans, but Sundance Selects doesn’t seem to be giving it much of a lead time. The film will hit theaters later this month on April 22nd before we presume it gets lost in the VOD world. We think maybe it deserves a bit better but we’re heartened that someone took a chance on a 3D contemporary dance film to begin with. Either way, we can’t wait. [THR]