♥♥♥
 |
| The fantastical emotion of unhindered freedom found in folk dance is encapsulated beautifully on this elegant poster for Levan Akin's And Then We Danced |
Merab is a passionate dancer in the tradition of Georgian folk dance, who falls for a new, male dance colleague and competitor during a period leading up to a pivotal audition in the traditional and Conservative country.
And Then We Danced is written, directed and co-edited by Levan Akin (Katinkas Kalas (2011)). The original Georgian title translates to, 'and we danced'.
With a dedicated and strong performance by debuting Levan Gelbakhiani as Merab and a thrilling insight into a rarely seen nation and culture, And Then We Danced attracts its viewers. But its secret taboo romance is seen many times before and is related in a very leisurely pace, which dramatically slows our investment in the film, which is lifted by the finishing audition dance scene.
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: Unknown
Box office: 625k $
= Uncertain but likely a huge flop (projected return of 0.625 times its cost)
[And Then We Danced premiered 16 May (Cannes Film Festival, Director's Fortnight section) and runs 105 minutes. Akin, born in Sweden with Georgian ex-pat parents, decided to make the film after seeing footage of a Gay Pride parade in Georgia getting attacked by homophobes. 10 companies and support bodies collaborated in the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place in Georgia, including in Tbilisi. The film was met with death threats, protests, dismissals and a refusal for support by official Georgia, including the Culture Ministry, the Church and the National Ballet, due to the country's homophobic culture. Hundreds protested the films cinema screenings in Georgia, with the police forcefully enforcing the peace and safety of cinema-goers. The Georgian gross is regrettably not reported online. The film opened #48 to a 13k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #43 and in 23 theaters (different weekends), grossing 177k $ (28.3 % of the total gross). North America was the film's 2nd biggest market. The biggest was Spain with 182k $ (29.1 %); 3rd biggest was the Netherlands with 142k $ (22.7 %). The cost of the film is unknown but is here projected to have been a low 1 mil. $. The film was nominated for a European Film award and won 4/7 Guldbagge award nominations, among other honors. It was chosen as Sweden's film for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar but did not get nominated. Akin returned with Deg (2021, TV-series) and theatrically with Crossing (2024). Gelbakhiani has not returned in a film yet but is slated to return in two films in post production, Don't Let the Sun (Catch You Crying) and Youri. And Then We Danced is certified fresh at 93 % with a 7.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of And Then We Danced?
No comments:
Post a Comment