bolero movie review

Without a doubt, the ever-increasing composition of the “bolero“ by Maurice Ravel one of the most popular pieces of music in the world. Released in 1928, it has since been covered in virtually every style of music. From Benny Goodman and his relaxed swing version to the legendary, casual reggae bolero by Frank Zappa, who stood in front of his band in 1988 with a baton in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Deep Purple used a pretty angry Bolero riff in “Child In Time,” and then there’s Symphonic’s techno version, which has little to do with the original folk dance. But not only in the music world, the “Bolero” could also be heard again and again in films, perhaps most prominently in “10 – The Dream Woman” with Bo Derek.

In contrast to the successful piece, both the composer and his other works remained in the background. The “Bolero” with its 300 bars, a simple rhythm in an endless loop that keeps increasing, is now considered a kind of one-hit wonder of classical music. Whether it's right or wrong isn't something even the experts agree on. Of course, a film about the creation of “Bolero” almost inevitably deals with the biography of the creator: What happened before? What came next? And what effect did the success of the piece have on the composer? These questions are likely to be the starting point for the drama “Bolero”, which is directed by the busy director Anne Fontaine (“Coco Chanel – The Beginning of a Passion”) and her co-author Claire Barré “To the Limit”. wrote.

So what can be said about a film in which researching the history of the creation of the piece of music is more interesting than thinking and writing about the film itself? If you believe the script, the “Bolero” was a chance hit, an emergency solution, possibly inspired by mechanical noises, the beat of which initially sets a swinging rhythm that leads down a completely wrong path. Because hardly anything of the force and passion of the piece of music can be seen in the film. When Maurice Ravel (Raphaël Personnaz) shows his client, the slightly faded dancer and choreographer Ida Rubinstein (Jeanne Balibar), the factory that inspired him to compose the piece, then it could have something to do with enthusiasm – at the time, many people were from The noise and rhythm of the machines fascinates.

But the nice idea fizzles out after a few minutes because Maurice Ravel turns out to be a pretty dull guy. He is working on his piece, which will become a ballet. He can't think of anything, time is a little short, he still can't think of anything, he goes to the sea and puts his client off, strums runs on the piano. In between, he is also tormented by memories of being a medical officer in World War I or being an unconsidered applicant for a rich music prize. Maurice Ravel remains completely uninteresting, and the story, which is not always implied, turns more and more towards the elegantly dressed women in his life, until at some point the plot threatens to suffocate due to its vagueness.

The passion just doesn't want to take over

Little is said about the women either: his mother (Anne Alvaro) believes in him, as does his married friend and supporter Misia Sert (Doria Tillier), and of course Ida Rubinstein too, but nothing actually happens. Is this a biography of Ravel? Or is it about the “Bolero”? It finally gets finished and has its premiere, at which Ida Rubinstein, who was celebrated at the time for her beauty, her dancing skills and her courage, bends over on stage with a few young, pretty men in somewhat silly movements that are probably supposed to be erotic .

Somehow the fiery piece of music with its passionate rhythm doesn't fit Maurice Ravel and his life. So it's not a sweet, spirited story, but it's also not a game with expectations or contrasts. This perhaps fits well with the composer, who himself said of “Bolero” that it was not music. But that doesn't fit at all with Paris during the Belle Epoque and the Roaring Twenties with their partly Russian-influenced art scene. Misia Sert and Ida Rubinstein were among them – Maurice Ravel was just there, but not in the middle. This could also have been a nice approach to the film, and one thinks wistfully of the great composer biopics by Ken Russell, filled with musical visions, dreamlike images and humor that perhaps have little in common with the true life stories of Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Liszt & Co., but in which the music and the biographies of the composers merged into images of incredibly memorable dynamics.

Maurice Ravel is played bravely and courageously by Raphaël Personnaz, who became known for his leading role in the TV series “L'Opera – Dancing In Paris”. He turns Ravel into an artist stricken by perfectionism who relies on the support of women but has no overt sexual interest in them – or in men either. Perhaps Maurice Ravel was actually asexual, perhaps he repressed his homosexuality. In any case, the sexual connotation of his “Bolero” was a mystery to him.

Why the film doesn't even dare to interpret this remains inexplicable. In fact, at the time he composed “Bolero,” Maurice Ravel was probably already suffering from a form of frontotemporal dementia that often affects younger people: Pick's disease, which is characterized by problems with speaking, writing and reading . The film at least shows some of Ravel's ordeal; he is less and less able to put his compositions on paper and slowly perishes, but at this point it is unfortunately too late for compassion or sympathy. Interest in Maurice Ravel has long since expired, he dies and his “Bolero” remains.

Conclusion: Elegant costumes and occasional beautiful images cannot hide the well-behaved to unimaginative script. The end credits with its countless variations on “Bolero” are almost more fun than the film itself. And if you are interested in the passion, beauty and dynamics of the much-played orchestral piece, you could also watch the ice dancing couple Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean instead of the film. who won the gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Sarajevo to the sound of “Bolero”. Four minutes and twenty-eight seconds for eternity.