The Company

I have just seen the DVD of Robert Altman's (Gosford Park)
The Company

What a delight. It's about the wonderful The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. The company dances in the film but the film is quite normal. It's about the lives of dancers:how they live, think , feel. Their snapped tendons, the joy in dance, their frustrations, their normal everyday lives as dancers. This is juxtaposed to the inspirational dancing in the film. The fluidity, the imagination, the finesse are all entrancing. I was wondering how a place like Chicago produces something so wonderfully delicate and beautiful. But then the Ruhr Valley in Germany gave birth to many inspired painters. Why do we see so little of this side of America? We see the endless crash films, the endless stupid teen films. The tanks, guns, soldiers. Why do we never see this beautiful art hidden in America? The dancers are so breathtaking and the routines are a fluid link between body and material. Real and ethereal. Made in 2003 I am not surprised it has taken me 2 years to find this film. It should have been show cased. I can't say that I am a passionate follower of dance. I can say that I shall be looking our for more of this company. Great film for when you're jaded and fed up. It spins a web around you and loses you in creativity. I love all of that.