Filmmaker Tomer Heymann's documentary profiles innovative Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin, who devised a freewheeling style of extemporaneous movement for ordinary folks called “Gaga.” Despite the title, there is relatively little treatment of the technique here, apart from scenes of a crowd gyrating rhythmically, and a testimonial from actress Natalie Portman. The focus instead is on Naharin's extraordinary career in modern dance, which is covered through archival material—including home movies and rehearsal footage—accompanied by interviews with Naharin. Not all that he says can be taken literally: after explaining that as a boy he began dancing to rouse his autistic brother, he later acknowledges that the entire story was an invention. More verifiable are his upbringing in a kibbutz, army service, turning to dance at the age of 22, unsatisfying years with Martha Graham and Maurice Béjart in New York, and 1990 move (along with his then-wife Mari Kajiwara, a principal in Alvin Ailey's troupe) to Tel Aviv to assume directorship of the Batsheva Dance Company. At Batsheva, his unorthodox approach, which blended naturalistic movement, repetition, multimedia, and sociopolitical commentary, initially antagonized audiences, but over time his adventurousness won him admirers at home and abroad. And Naharin's rigorous standards—demanding of his dancers and dismissive of authority (he withdrew from a national gala rather than accede to a costume change)—have made him a celebrity maverick even outside his field. Extras include bonus footage of interviews, rehearsal excerpts, and performances. Offering an often fascinating portrait of a man of uncompromising vision, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Mr. Gaga
(2015) 100 min. In Hebrew & English w/English subtitles. DVD: $26.98. Icarus Films Home Video (available from most distributors). Closed captioned. Volume 33, Issue 1
Mr. Gaga
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