Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Film On Point: Much-Requested Ballet Doc First Position Opens Friday
Posted by Jim Ridley on Tue, May 15, 2012 at 7:51 AM
Good news for everyone who's been hitting up The Belcourt with requests for the ballet documentary First Position. A hole in the theater's schedule now has the movie opening Friday, giving local balletophiles a crack at director Bess Kargman's crowdpleaser about six young dancers gambling their futures, their hopes and their hamstrings on a competition for prestigious scholarships.
Here's Alison Willmore in the AV Club:
First Position is very much in the mold of Spellbound. It doesn’t have the kick or ties to larger themes of Jeffrey Blitz’s doc, but it does have naturally cinematic subject matter. Shot by Nick Higgins, the film makes the most of not just the performances but also the backstage wrangling and waiting. (Some of its loveliest images are of dancers prepping in the darkness in the wings.) Whether baring bleeding feet, weeping over a missed step, or leaving behind everything that’s familiar to pursue a career, the subjects aren’t afraid of sacrifice, which makes the stakes of the final competition heart-poundingly high, even for those who don’t give a damn about tights and tutus.
