The Red Shoes
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A film i've heard a lot about but wasn't sure if i'd get on with, I've had the dvd for about 5 years and never got around to it despite loving "Black Narcissus". Anyway it was on BBC 2 as one of their Saturday matinee type old classic films they do each week. So i thought i'd watch 5 minutes.
20 minutes later i'd dragged out my 2 disc copy. Not only did I watch the film but also the majority of the extras.
Phenomenal.
It's about a ballerina who gets taken under the standoffish wing of a self obsessed and ultra focused ballet director.
While at the same time parallel a young composer is in the same situation.
Eventually the young couple fall for each other but by that time the director has developed his own obsession with the ballerina.
The complexities of the relationships are mirrored and shadowed by the ballet of the Red shoes that they all work on.
This may not sound the most riveting watch, but the compositions of image, the dancing, the acting and the tense relationships all add up to a truly one of a kind film.
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It may seem lightweight at first but by the time we get halfway through the film and the striking and surreal ballet is performed over around 15 minutes as a pure piece of cinema you realise this is no mere fanciful film.
There is a dark undercurrent of obsession that runs throughout the film, the dedication to art to the point where it is your life and gets in the way of every other aspect, ultimately pursued to a not always happy ending.
I really didn't expect to be as caught up in it as I was.
A Masterpiece.
9/10