The screening of "Pina", the last creation of German director Wim Wenders, was the first 3D production to be shown in the recently-renovated "Florin Piersic" on the evening of June 4th. Unfortunately, the German director, who was last year awarded with the prize for his career, was not present at this premiere in Cluj. His film was though much rewarded with the applauses of the spectators, who appreciated his 2-hour art film. Wim Wenders was at the same time the director, the screen player and the producer of Pina.

Pina Bausch, the founder of the expressionist dance-theater troupe Tanztheater Wupperthal Pina Bausch, collaborated with director Wim Wenders on a documentary about herself, named simply "Pina". The documentary turned into a eulogy to the artist and her art, because of her untimely death in 2009, before having completed the film. Issued in 2010, "Pina" had its world premiere at the Festival in Berlin in 2011, where it was highly appreciated.

The 3D technique eliminates the cold appearance of the cinema screen, placing the viewers in front of a scene and bringing the performing artists amid the public. The film follows to some extent the rules of a play (a play in a play), with acts preceded by the memories of Pina Bausch' collaborators. The artists originate in some of the most diverse cultures, as well as the background music - the Romanians will discover there a song of reputed singer Maria Tanase ("Lume"). The stage elements are either simple, primordial (earth, water), as obstacles to be overcome, or common places - like busses, the side of roads, industrial areas or natural settings. The moving body, its expression and life, is the central point in all the plays.

The film is full of symbols, leaving the viewer with the feeling that there is more to be discovered, that one may have to see again some scenes in order to grasp one more sense in Pina Bauschs' art. The same way that the force of her creations left a mark on the viewers, the memory of the artist went on living within the souls of the dancers. "Pina talked little", one of them describes, but the way she glanced at them over the table where she sat gave them the power to conquer the scene and to express themselves either as individuals or a group, in the end taking out of everybody what he had best and even turning a flaw into an advantage. The artist is present in few sequences, but her personality and influence is revealed from the uttered thoughts of her soul children or the result of her genial influence on them.

The fragments in Pina Baucshs' productions include the performances with Cafe Muller, Le Sacre du printemps, Vollmond, Kontakthof, whereas one of the most tragical ones depicts the condition of the artist/dancer, in the scene where a group of male dancers touch parts of the dancer's body.

The film is to be screen in Romanian cinemas starting with September this year. Until then, the participants at the Transylvania Film Festival are able to find out more about Wim Wenders' 3D art and the documentary Pina by participating at the master class lead by Wolf Bosse, the general manager of Das Werk Company, at the "Florin Piersic" Cinema.

Gabriela Popa
info@clujonline.com