La Danse: Le Ballet de L'Opéra de Paris

Frederick Wiseman, the master of fly-on-the-wall filmmaking, trains his camera on the corps de ballet of the Paris Opera—one of the world's finest companies—in La Danse, which illustrates the demanding efforts of choreographers Pierre Lacotte, Angelin Preljocaj, and Wayne McGregor, along with the dancers, to develop (through long and arduous rehearsal) the multiple precision movements that add up to a finished performance. The documentary also records the insistent behind-the-scenes efforts of artistic director Brigitte Lefevre to manage her staff, keep up standards, and maintain financial stability, which involves negotiating with government bureaucrats for funding. And occasionally the camera ventures into the building's byways to observe the seamstresses, carpenters, maintenance staff, and cafeteria workers on the job—even the beekeeper atop the roof of the opera house. As usual, Wiseman's cinema vérité method eschews narration or explanatory intertitles, although there is a narrative arc to La Danse, which proceeds from initial preparation to final performance, with three pieces from the 2008 repertoire—Preljocaj's Medea, McGregor's Genus, and a mounting of Nureyev's The Nutcracker—receiving special attention. La Danse is a documentary that, for all its apparent detachment, is as deeply involving—and affecting—as any fictional drama. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)