Saw the 3D film about legendary coreographer Pina Bausch in a totally full cinema hall during Moscow International Film Festival. It was one of those unique cinema experiences you will never forget. One after one the members of her Tanztheater, dancers from all over the world, speaking in different languages, and speaking in a way that the words do not only say something about the late (she died in 2009) Pina Bausch but also add in tone to the music of the film, the music that carries the dance scenes inspired from her work, especially from ”Café Müller”.

The dancers are of course brilliant on the stage that Wenders has established, and the imagery makes you think of great surrealist painters like Magritte, or of great filmmakers as Alain Resnais (”L’année dernière á Marienbad”) or the work of Swedish master Roy Andersson and his use of space. You do not at any moment get bored and you regret, when it is over, the 106 minutes of pleasure. And long to see it again.

Pleasure, yes, but what the dancers express, are feelings of pain and joy, sorrow and happiness, it is literally moving, they are moving, the images are moving, words are few but the movements of the dancer and their faces expressing gratitude to what Pina Bausch gave to them. It’s all about Love.

Germany, 2011, 3D, 106 mins.

http://www.pina-film.de/en/

http://www.wim-wenders.com/

http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/eng/

Still: Donata Wenders, from die-mark-online.de

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Tue Steen Müller
Tue Steen Müller

Müller, Tue Steen
Documentary Consultant and Critic, DENMARK

Worked with documentary films for more than 20 years at the Danish Film Board, as press officer, festival representative and film consultant/commissioner. Co-founder of Balticum Film and TV Festival, Filmkontakt Nord, Documentary of the EU and EDN (European Documentary Network).
Awards: 2004 the Danish Roos Prize for his contribution to the Danish and European documentary culture. 2006 an award for promoting Portuguese documentaries. 2014 he received the EDN Award “for an outstanding contribution to the development of the European documentary culture”. 2016 The Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. 2019 a Big Stamp at the 15th edition of ZagrebDox. 2021 receipt of the highest state decoration, Order of the Three Stars, Fourth Class, for the significant contribution to the development and promotion of Latvian documentary cinema outside Latvia. In 2022 he received an honorary award at DocsBarcelona’s 25th edition having served as organizer and programmer since the start of the festival.
From 1996 until 2005 he was the first director of EDN (European Documentary Network). From 2006 a freelance consultant and teacher in workshops like Ex Oriente, DocsBarcelona, Archidoc, Documentary Campus, Storydoc, Baltic Sea Forum, Black Sea DocStories, Caucadoc, CinéDOC Tbilisi, Docudays Kiev, Dealing With the Past Sarajevo FF as well as programme consultant for the festivals Magnificent7 in Belgrade, DOCSBarcelona, Verzio Budapest, Message2Man in St. Petersburg and DOKLeipzig. Teaches at the Zelig Documentary School in Bolzano Italy.

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