12 ANGRY LEBANESE
Originally, it was a play, written in the 1950S, about a jury arguing about the innocence of a boy in court. But it became much more than that when a woman decided to play it with prisoners in jail, in Beirut. Zeina Daccache launched the first theatre project in Lebanon and auditioned hundreds of men for the play. Some of them were there because of small offenses, but others were convicted with murder.
Zeina Daccache made them work for a year on the play, and never let them take advantage of her or her work. The documentary follows the progression of the play, how prisoners see the plot and how it changed them to be considered as human beings, even if they were behind the bars. They learnt to act, they learnt to dance, they learnt to make people laugh and to laugh about themselves. The director chose not to show the long process of selection, and simply focused on the play and final actors. The film includes interviews during which the men talk about their crimes, their family, the play, the fact of living with the knowing that they'll be in jail for the rest of their life. It shows their anger, against themselves and their actions, and against how the world looks at them because they're now prisoners. And let me say that it is dramatically powerful to listen to those men, who sometimes have been living in the streets since they were kids, talking about their feelings.
People from the outside came to see the play 8 times. The prisoners were able to spend some time with their family - one of them celebrated his son's wedding - and most of all, they were able to regain some dignity as they were looked at as artists and not as criminals anymore. See? How Art can change lives?
Completely different, but just as wonderful - even more to me, but I am no totally objective as I really like Pina Bausch's work. DANCING DREAMS is a documentary directed by Anne Linsel and Rainer Hoffmann, about Pina's adaptation of her 1978 play KONTAKTHOF with teenagers, in 2007. Some might know that she had already made an adaptation with people age 65 and above - or how she managed to transform and give a totally new breath to her play/dance.
Teenagers from Wuppertal, an industrial town in Germany's Ruhr area, auditioned for this show. The documentary follows their work with dancers/ rehearsal teachers Jo-Ann Endicott and Benedict Billiet - who were both in the original adaptation of KONTAKTHOF. Some interviews of the final cast are also included: the very thin blond girl explains how important it was for her to focus on this show and to make her dead father proud, the gipsy boy tells why he needed to be looked at thanks to it, two friends show how is reinforced their friendship but also developed their point of view on the woman's body. The show teaches them to look at each other, to touch other without being uncomfortable or shy, to give away their shyness. The entire crew works hard, and from time to time, Pina Bausch comes to the rehearsal to look at them, pick them and give them advice. The process shown is unique, human, touching and as it's Pina Bausch, extraordinarily beautiful, colorful, joyful and elegant. We follow teenagers as they grow thanks to this experience, and we notice how much they want to be perfect all together. And the result is a stunning performance, but also an incredible documentary. Especially after the recent but still oh so tragic death of one of the greatest choreographers of all times.
That's why it is also a tribute to Pina, this marvelous woman and artist who died too soon, all of a sudden. The fact that people keep on dancing her work, keep on showing what she made and how she transformed the Art of dancing, also keeps her alive forever. And this documentary is one more proof that Art can really transform people.
PS: to see - even if I haven't, but if you're in France, you CAN whereas I can't - : PINA by Wim Wenders. Trailer here: http://www.allocine.fr/video/player_gen_cmedia=19196968&cfilm=189098.html
Cheers,
MJ.
