Utne Reader Film Reviews: March-April 2009

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A fond, glancing portrait of Russia’s Kirov Ballet, now known as the Mariinsky Theatre, Ballerina roams freely among a handful of dancers at various ages and stages of their careers to assemble a composite image of, as narrator Diane Baker puts it, “constant metamorphosis.” On the heels of Ballets Russes but en pointe in its own right, director Bertrand Normand’s film half-consciously propagates the myth of the ballerina as a delicate, ethereal creature, customarily observed from a distance in an isolating spotlight. So, what, no eating disorders, no nervous breakdowns, no sexual tensions? Maybe it’s enough that these impressive performers endure dissatisfied choreographers, effusive fans, and their own physical limitations with rigorous grace. —Jonathan Kiefer

Stuck on Videotape
Be Kind Rewind
(New Line; on DVD and Blu-Ray)

Director Michel Gondry looks on the bright side of the digital revolution in this joyous Jack Black comedy, dreaming that good ol’ American ingenuity—with a timely dash of hope—could rescue mom-and-pop culture from the wrecking ball. Black and Mos Def play video store denizens whose fidelity to low-tech VHS has them replacing worn-out tapes with absurdly self-made versions of old faves like Ghostbusters. These redux flicks not only attract an audience, but also reconstitute a dwindling community. Like Gondry’s Dave Chappelle documentary Block Party, this is pop fantasia as grassroots activism. Never mind Netflix: Be kind and get Rewind at your local indie video store, if you still have one. —R.N.

Utne Reader Approved

Lance Hammer’s startling humanist drama Ballast (Alluvial; on DVD) focuses on three people struggling to heal old wounds in the frigid Mississippi delta. Patiently directed and passionately acted, it stands as one of the best films of 2008.

Recovering revisionist Oliver Stone takes the “fair and balanced” approach to our 43rd president in W. (Lionsgate; on DVD), and still his biopic-as-exorcism scathes. The film is way more interesting than most people thought or said—it’s radical, even.

In the French drama The Class (Sony Pictures Classics; in theaters), an earnest young teacher strains to keep his kids in line—and we learn to view his blackboard jungle as the global village.

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