The penultimate film of the Film@BirrTheatre 2023 season is about the self-discovery journey of 26-year-old Elise (Marion Barbeau), a classical ballet prima donna who struggles to reclaim her place in the dance world after breaking her ankle on stage. Her affliction is emotional as well as physical; her fall occurs right after Elise discovers that her boyfriend is cheating on her. Unfortunately for Elise, this is not the first time she has hurt her ankle and when told that she might never perform again, Elise is ready to accept her fate. As Elise is 26 years old, such an injury would mean the end to her career. Nevertheless, while working at an artists’ residency in Brittany as an extra pair of hands in the kitchen, Elise finds her way to healing – both physically and mentally – through catering for and mixing with a contemporary dance group.
In her acting debut, Barbeau, a professional ballerina at the Paris Opera Ballet, is mesmerizing in motion, and her training is obvious; she even points her toes while jogging! Usually, when someone is trying to make a narrative film about dance, they must either cast a dramatic performer and bring in real dancers as doubles/attempt to train the actor or cast a real dancer and hope that they can deliver dialogue as deftly as their pirouettes. In casting Barbeau, writer-director Cédric Klapisch hit the jackpot. Barbeau gives a beautiful performance that portrays the emotional fragility that exists in the physicality of dance.
Even if your exposure to dance is limited to occasionally viewing Flashdance or Dirty Dancing, there's still a lot to love in this heart-warming comedy drama. It is a charming love letter to dance, an antithesis to Black Swan.
Join us this Thursday at 8pm for this week's instalment of Film@BirrTheatre.
Run time: 117 minutes
Presented with the support of the French Embassy and the Institut Français
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