Synopsis
A love story, portraying the dilemmas and inevitable consequences of ambition. It is a film about a woman's fight for independence, a woman trying to succeed with her own art in the extremely competitive world of dance.
2017 Directed by Elvira Lind
A love story, portraying the dilemmas and inevitable consequences of ambition. It is a film about a woman's fight for independence, a woman trying to succeed with her own art in the extremely competitive world of dance.
Stjernedanseren Bobbi Jene, 裸命舞姬, 바비 진
i think this is the most real film i've ever seen.
partly because of the nature of its production - elvira lind essentially lived with bobbi jene smith for months on end, following her across continents and filming her most private moments until she felt comfortable enough in front of a camera to be honest and vulnerable. it's intimate, almost uncomfortably so, and that intimacy matches the very nature of bobbi's work perfectly. she aims to make herself vulnerable when she dances, and then she continues that work outside the stage by showing us as much of her personal life as she possibly can.
also, a confession: i have never appreciated contemporary dance before. it's not that i didn't consider…
critics of this film have said that bobbi jene isn't important enough for this to exist. she is not a subject that needs to be explored. and maybe she isn't. but that's exactly what makes this film special.
this film is so real, so built with kindness and care that it starts to feel like a narrative film, like a brilliant fictional piece that mirrors reality. but it is reality. it is a period of time in a woman's life, and you feel the weight of everything that happens to her like it was happening to your very dear friend. from her heartbreak to her relocation, you understand exactly what she needs to dance out.
watch this documentary. it deserves your attention.
i think we were just dreaming too much. we’re not very good with all the reality stuff.
52 films by women 2017: 50/52.
Bobbi Jene Smith is a dancer from Iowa who found herself, for no other reason than wanting to work there, at the Batsheva Dance Company in Israel. She stayed there for ten years, her work becoming increasingly acclaimed and experimental, before deciding to leave for new challenges. Elvira Lind's observational documentary catches her beginning this process. It is a much subtler, quieter film than you might think would be possible to make about someone who does frenetic, muscle-flexing dances while completely naked.
Making films about artists is a difficult balance. Make a film about a poet or a screenwriter and you will probably have a subject who can talk confidently and insightfully about their…
Netflix
The only reason I put this on was because Laura Dern was in it, I actually thought it was a movie for about a half hour until I looked it up.
For someone who knew nothing about Bobbi Jene or even contemporary dance, this was so incredibly well made that it instantly became one of my favorite documentaries.
I don't think I've ever seen anyone allow themselves to be so vulnerable for not only the audience but for the camera as well. That vulnerability allows such a vivid portrait to be painted on screen. It not only goes into detail about what she does, but who she is and what she is living. Simply put, this documentary is an incredible achievement.
Fearless, guileless dancer exposes all; omnipresent, indefatigable documentarian captures same. In other words: As Bobbi Jene explores the limits of her passion for truth and bravery, we as the audience are somewhat uncomfortably forced to grapple with the boundary between art appreciation and voyeurism.
Eating, walking, stretching, the camera is always rolling and every seemingly disposable moment is unflinchingly cataloged in real-time. We watch, fly-on-the-wall style, as the artist’s deepest convictions and most nagging doubts are laid bare across several years. Eventually, all protective artifice is stripped away and we see and hear on the screen what we rarely do: unadorned, unmediated reality.
Pairs well with another by director Elvira Lind, the hope-inspiring short, The Letter Room (2020) and director Wim Wenders homage to modern choreographer Pina Bausch in Pina (2011). Also oddly pairs with doc about acrobatics performer David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived (2023).
LFF 2017 #9
This is a really great movie, but honestly nothing matters except for the fact that LAURA DERN IS IN IT IN THIS DOCUMENTARY LAURA LAURA DERN LAURA DERN IS IN IT SHE'S IN IT IN THIS DOCUMENTARY FILM LAURA DERN
Oscar Isaac Bucket List - Entry 16:
Amazing how it was only once I saw that Laura Dern and Oscar Isaac weren't playing characters that I realised it was a documentary. How Elvira Lind was able to shoot the film so intimately without it ever seeming to infringe on how any of the people behaved I'll never know.
Worth mentioning, at 36:18 the chord progression from Oscar Isaac's song "The Measure of Things" plays, which I'd say is coincidence but given that Elvira Lind is his wife it seems unlikely that it is (it's a gorgeous song, follow the link).
hello my name is ELVIRA LIND STAN, but you can call me yavin...like, i guess. if you MUST.