Pinatulog Niya Ako: 5 Thoughts on Pina

Watched it w/ Lola over during a weekend screening organized by Cinemanila at Market! Market! Normally my movie reviews would be presented in 10 points, but I couldn't muster the same enthusiasm I did before I saw the film.  Note to cinema security: Not being allowed to record a movie is not the same as not being allowed to bring a camera into the theater.  Had I brought a pack of cigarettes would you have taken those even if I wasn't smoking at the time?

• As an aside, I can't believe that even after seeing the poster several times I kept referring to the movie as Piña.  (That explains all those incorrect torrent search results).  The title refers to Pina Baucsh, German choreographer extraordinaire who passed away in 2009.  The film only came out now because Wenders stopped production when Bausch died, but the dancers she worked w/ convinced him to continue it.  The result is a mix of documentary, dance and drama.
• Modern dance, at least the way it was represented here, seemed to me like a form of OCD (the D is for Dance).  Mostly it was repeated movements that if were done outside the context of a stage performance by the person standing next to you, would make you either back away slowly and/or call someone who handles medical emergencies.
• But since this was a stage performance --4 of them, in fact-- I was anxious to see in full the performances that wowed me when I first saw the trailer.  Alas, like a local film the trailer showed all the good parts. It was this image below that stuck w/ me: 

Dance 'roid rage!

• The film screening started w/ misstep as video was not immediately followed by audio.  Because subtitles came out we just assumed the silence was part of the film (it wasn't).  The next 100 minutes kept me anxious, but unfortunately not interested or even conscious enough (nodded off twice).
• 3D was put to good use here.  As some of theater scenes were shot in an angle where you could see "audience members" in the front rows watching the performance as we did, you could believe you were watching a live dance performance as well.  That said, this may  well be the most boring 3D film I've ever seen.