Feelings Are Facts: The Life of Yvonne Rainer

Yvonne Rainer is both an innovative choreographer and a rule-breaking filmmaker. Jack Walsh's documentary incisively treats both aspects of her career (even if the structure is somewhat odd, withholding material about her childhood and youth until midway through). The first section deals chronologically with Rainer's work in ballet, using archival footage and photos—along with excerpts from interviews with Rainer herself, as well as friends and collaborators—to illustrate how she revolutionized modern dance by adding “pedestrian” moves (walking, running, etc.) to the ballet lexicon. Rainier also co-founded the Judson Dance Theater, which became a leader in postmodern dance, and she issued a famous “No Manifesto” against conventional approaches, even those adopted by earlier groundbreakers such as Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham. After an interlude dealing with Rainer's early years, Walsh resumes a chronological approach by turning to her work in film beginning in the 1970s, employing archival clips and interview excerpts that emphasize the feminist slant and nonchalant approach to narrative that characterized her work (including 1972's Lives of Performers and 1985's The Man Who Envied Women). The documentary ultimately winds up at Rainer's more recent return to dance, including her 2008 Spiraling Down (a complete performance of which is one of the disc extras). Feelings Are Facts is a fine introduction to the career of a significant figure in contemporary dance, one whose cinematic work may be less influential but is still of interest to devotees of modern avant-garde and feminist film. Extras include expanded interviews. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)