The White Crow

The title of director Ralph Fiennes’s kaleidoscopic biopic about dancer Rudolf Nureyev (Oleg Ivenko) refers to a Russian expression meaning an “odd bird.” Nureyev’s story begins in 1961, just after he defected to the West, as his mentor/teacher Alexander Pushkin (Fiennes) is questioned by government agents. In confusing flashbacks, viewers learn that Nureyev was born on a Trans-Siberian train in 1938 and lived an impoverished childhood in Ufa (which Fiennes films as devoid of color). When his mother smuggled Rudy and his sisters into a ballet performance, his future was set. Nureyev spent his formative years at Leningrad’s Vaganova Academy, a feeder for the Kirov Ballet (now the Mariinsky). Substituting ferocious passion for technique, he rebelled against classical authority, becoming known for both his perfectionism and arrogance. When the Kirov went on tour to Paris, mercurial Nureyev dismissed “official” outings, preferring to visit museums and galleries by himself or accompanied by French friends, such as Clara Saint (Adele Exarchopoulos), daughter of the notable Chilean artist. Reprimanded by Soviet authorities, Nureyev was told that he couldn’t travel with the Kirov to London. But rather than return to Moscow, he sought asylum at Paris’s La Bouget Airport. The White Crow doesn’t deal with Nureyev’s subsequent Royal Ballet partnership with British ballerina Margot Fonteyn, later work at the Paris Opera Ballet in the 1980s, or death from AIDS in 1993. Based on Julie Kavanagh’s 2007 biography Rudolf Nureyev: The Life, the fragmented script by David Hare emphasizes Nureyev’s physical, mental, and emotional dedication. Unfortunately, Ivenko, a talented Ukrainian with the Tatar State Ballet in Kazan, lacks Nureyev’s charismatic sensuality. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include a Q&A with director Ralph Fiennes, writer David Hare, and star Oleg Ivenko (27 min.), and “A Look Behind the Curtain” making-of featurette (8 min.). Bottom line: a solid extras package for this uneven bio-pic.] (S. Granger)