And Then We Danced
“And Then We Danced” feels like as generic a coming-of-age film as I’ve ever seen for much of its 112 minutes. And then, at the end, a sequence happens that is simply electric. It does not make me like the movie any more than I did, but it makes the journey of its main character, Merab, played by Levan Gelbakhiani, feel complete; he has truly come of age in a way that feels earned, and where he’s ready for what’s next in life for him.
We begin at a practice at the Georgian National Dance Company. Merab and his longtime partner, Mary (Ana Javakishvili), are rehearsing when a replacement dancer, Irakli (Bachi Valishvili), comes in. Merab’s style rubs the dance instructor the wrong way- his movement is supposed to be rigid and straight like a nail, but Merab has tremendous expression and feeling he wants to express. It almost makes him lose out on a possible audition for the main ensemble in Georgia, but he and Irakli both are pegged to audition. Merab’s family is struggling to get by financially- he and his brother, also a part of the company (but not into it as much as Merab), are trying to keep them afloat, sometimes having to go to lengths to do so. The focus, however, is mainly on Merab, his dancing, and getting ready for the audition, which might cause strain with his family and Mary the more Irakli and him spend time together.
Writer-director Levan Akin’s film feels like it probably comes from a personal place- we get a feeling that he has a personal connection with Merab as he goes through his story here- but the way it is plotted out is predictable, and not filled with the passion I feel as though he wants to infuse the movie with. Oddly enough, and it’s probably just the setting, but I felt a lot of kinship between this and Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” throughout much of the film. Again, I think that’s more the setting, because this is not a psychological horror film, but an earnest and sincere drama about a young man trying to find his way through his life, and figure out who he is. It follows those beats pretty successfully, and Gelbakhiani is superb at playing the role, but it’s all so predictable- as you watch the film, you’ll probably be able to see every story complication coming. That ending, however, is an early favorite for one of the year’s best. By the time the film gets there, Merab understands what he needs to do, and who he is; seeing him act on it in the way he does is electrifying, and moving. I wish the rest of the film was the same.
