PINA - The Essence of Pina Bausch

A sea of bodies urgently sweep across the soft dirt that is seemingly floating in a black void.  Dirt gradually clings to the sweat of the powerful figures stamping, churning and collectively moving to the pounding energy of the Stavinsky’s score - The Rite of Spring.  This visceral performance is only the beginning of the film PINA and yet I already notice myself being drawn into the sensual landscape and touched by the raw emotion of the performers.

PINA is a 3D film created by Wim Wenders for Pina Bausch, the influential and inspiring German choreographer and dancer, who passed away in 2009.  The film takes the viewer on a journey through some of Pina’s most significant works of choreography, performed by the Tanztheatre Wuppertal ensemble to which she dedicated the last 35 years of her life.  The film follows the dancers from the stage out into urban and industrial settings of Wuppertal city and surrounding areas. Wenders couples his ability to visually capture the essence of a place with Pina’s incredible skill of sculpturally placing the body in and through space.

Pina’s expressive works ultimately address reality and key questions of human existence -  of love, hope, desire, intimacy and fear.  Many of those fortunate to have seen Pina’s performances have spoken of an exhilarating experience and being moved deeply.  Wenders admits to his initial reluctance in filming Pina’s work, for fear that he would never be able to capture the intoxicating power of these performances on camera.  Many would claim that it is impossible to translate the embodied experience onto a cinematic screen, however, I would argue that Wenders, through his sensitive use of 3D technology and camera skills, has come very close to providing the audience with a real sense of how it might feel to be sitting amongst the audience in the Tanztheatre Wuppertal.

The film is not a biography of Pina, but rather a archive and alternative language for such an ephemeral art form that is dance. The film also delves into the human essence of Pina through the performers poetic reflections on how she has touched, influenced and encouraged those around her.  I have not seen a Bausch performance in the flesh so I personally am grateful for Wenders in creating this opportunity for myself and so many viewers around the world to experience the ‘encounter’ that she sought to achieve through her work.  Through his film, Wenders has sensitively and poetically extended Pina’s philosophy of giving dance back to the common humanity.

Caitlin Franzmann