Rise

  2nd June 20:40 - Live at Parabola Arts Centre

UK PREMIERE

For his latest film veteran helmer Cédric Klapisch (Russian Dolls, Un Air de Famille) turns to the world of dance, and showcases the skills of Marion Barbeau, a principal dancer of the Paris Opera Ballet company and starring here in her first film. She plays Elise, an accomplished classical dancer who, at age 26, sustains a career-threatening injury on stage. Told she will never dance again, at least not classically, and forced to re-evaluate her life, she discovers a new direction in contemporary dance. The film opens with an extended wordless sequence in which body rather than verbal language is emphasised, drawing us irresistibly into the milieu of the film. Klapisch films the dancers’ movement with incredible skill and empathy, emphasising the transcendent pleasure such highly-developed skills confer. Yet he doesn’t obsess over his subject matter, leaving room for his characters to develop and a strong story to emerge. Anyone who has marvelled at the athleticism of classical dancers, or has been wowed by the sheer joy of ‘Strictly’, will find much to enjoy here.