Birds of Paradise

No pun intended - or maybe not the way you think. On the other hand, if you've read a few of my reviews, you may have already guessed that I sometimes mean multiple things with what I write. In this case, it is about the numbness ballet dancers go through (especially with their feet), but also the numbness some viewers may feel with movies about ballet.

We have seen a few of them - and this may not have too many new things that it can introduce. But the interplay between the two main characters, their relationship that is not entirely clear, but also the visual interpretation of certain things, does give it an edge.

Not the best movie ever, but a really nice effort and really well acted too. The story and the amount of passion thrown at us is really something in a good sense. Still you have to suspend your disbelief and fill in some gaps to be thoroughly entertained. Yes the movie does not give you all the answers - but you can deduct from some of the behavior what it tries to tell you.

Criticism and all that included of course. Passion and fanaticism go hand in hand sometimes! Not to mention expectations from the outside ... whatever is your driving motor ... and whatever is inside your head, for better or worse.

This movie starts out promising, but from "save the last dance" to "black swan", it will remind you of all those scenes, some so alike it's not even funny. The cast is bland, the acting is bland, there are no great dance scenes as they are almost poorly filmed or cut. The end kinda saves it, and so does the contrived friendship between the two main portagonists, but that's about it. Watchable.

The strongest part of Birds of Paradise is for sure the visual quality. Sadly, the story rides on every cliche regarding ballet I can think of (relationship drama, sex, drugs, total over the board resentment and competition, rich parents being emotional wrecks and evil entities, maestros with a notion to sadism, and I could go on and on). I just wondered the whole time when the girls (and boys) got time to do their study and training - remember, the setting is an elite dancer school. Also the questions between being an artist or following the rule of traditional classic dance is the wrong question - if I want to paint a piece in the style of Rembrandt I can't do action painting techniques - modern dance, classic dance, freestyle, whatever, it's up to you to chose the path you want to follow. I watched a few documentaries on the matter of elite ballet schools and groups and I did not get the impression that those dancers or teachers were maniacs, drug addicts and so on. Anyway, acting is good and the cinematography did hold my attention, was a real pleasure - last but not least, a better crafted and less stereotyped plot, and Birds of Paradise could have been a really good movie. Verdict: compared to Black Swan it is obvious that Birds of Paradise lacks of depth and originality story-wise. Exact rate: 5 + 1 bonus for the visuals only.

This could have been a really good film. A masterpiece even. I hate that it missed that chance because it didn't exactly know what to focus on, what message it wanted to put out there, it is giving me the feeling as if it was not edited right.

The film had its shining moments and the acting is superb especially Kristine Frøseth's performance - just wow. She is so believable in her portrayal of Marine.

But the rest of it, most importantly the storyline felt rushed, like there were too many things going on and not enough time to tell them. Themes and plots were being juggled all at the same time and it it did not come out well.

I wish the directiom and the writing have been focused on the darker themes of betrayal, self sabotage, the grit and competition, the mentality and toxic environment of ballet, if it was able to balance the themes well and have given it the time to simmer then this would be a legend of a film.

Instead I found myself confused having to digest new pieces of information about the characters watching it all unfold too fast whilst still trying to process what had happened a few scenes back.

The choreography is brilliant ut ther ewer enit enough dancing shown, the cinematography will take you there but then once you the story becomes lacking. We are gifted the chemistry of the two main leads but even that was not maximized.

It felt as though I went to eat at a restaurant expecting to have a good meal that will fill me but found the dishes uncooked and left feeling even hungrier.

The story of this movie does not exist, there are some moments of astonishment but nothing more.

There is no story to follow, there is nothing to rely on to make a plot twist, turning them into moments of wonder, which cause curiosity and are the highlight of the script. There is never a development of each character, there are many characters that end up discarding and the end is left to interpretation. However, there are things to highlight such as the performances, especially that of Kristine Froseth, the choreography and the coordination are good.

It's a shame that the talent of those involved is wasted by a script so lazy and boring that it says absolutely nothing.