In Valérie Müller and Angelin Preljocaj's POLINA, a young dancer must find her identity

Art, creativity, dance, choreography, and finally finding oneself: all of these themes shimmer and glow, wax and wane in the course of the new and unusual movie, POLINA. A French film with Russian roots, it is co-directed by Valérie Müller and her husband, French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj. This pairing of filmmaker and choreographer results in one of the better examples of a movie that tackles art and creativity and actually allows its audience to discover in a believable and dramatic fashion exactly how these things come into being.

There is still a mystery at the movie's core. There must be where creativity is concerned. But the filmmakers (shown above, with Mr. Preljocaj on the right) manage to get so much right -- from a youth spent in the service of one's parents' desires for their children's future to the awakening of a classical ballet dancer to the surprise and joy to be found in modern dance -- that Polina, both the character and her film, seems by virtue of how she blooms and evolves, to be quite an original creation.

As played by two actresses (Veronika Zhovnytska, above, center, is the young schoolgirl, while Anastasia Shevtsova, below, with Niels Schneider, portrays the more mature version), Polina is fascinating figure who never reveals herself fully. This makes the movie even richer, I suspect. She's very talented, smart and caring, and her love for dance -- ballet, modern and finally choreography itself -- is clearly and beautifully demonstrated by both the actresses and the filmmakers.

Director Müller has made two documentaries previously (this is her second feature-length film) but Preljocaj is both a filmmaker and a rather famous choreographer. This film collaboration seems an inspired one, especially in its use of choreography, which is first-class throughout. In fact, TrustMovies does not recall another narrative film (except maybe The Red Shoes and some of Gene Kelly's work) in which choreography proved this vital and important to the tale being told.

From Polina's ballet training to her sudden but full-out revelation of the beauty of modern dance to her first experience with improvisation and finally to her incipient choreography, each step, and its accompanying dancing, seems wonderfully on-the-mark, giving us access not only to the dance itself, but to Polina's experience of it. The film's finale offers one of the most beautiful, moving, and glorious dance duets I can recall -- giving us Polina, her partner (Paris Opera star Jérémie Bélingard, above, a knock-out) and Preljocaj at the top of their game.

Along the path of Polina's education, she is introduced to modern dance via the choreography and person of the head of dance company, played with enormous heat, heart and understanding by the great Juliette Binoche, above. (Is there nothing Ms Binoche cannot do, I wonder? Except play comedy, when the director is as graceless as Bruno Dumont.) This section is as fascinating and full as the rest of the film, and marks yet another change of direction for our troubled heroine.

Ms Müller allows Polina to work out her pathway and life without resorting to melodramatic flourishes. Thus the movie is relatively quiet, despite the fact of her father's involvement with what looks like the Russian mafia. Without even a mention of it, the film is absolutely feminist, and it also offers life lessons without unduly pushing them upon us. Polina is a positive, engaging surprise in just about every way. (That's Alexsey Guskov, below, who plays Polina's smart, stern and caring ballet instructor with just the right degree of rectitude and sentiment.)

From Oscilloscope Films and running 109 minutes, the movie opens this Friday, August 25 in New York City at the Angelika Film Center and the Lincoln Plaza Cinema. On September 1, it opens in Los Angeles (at the Landmark NuArt) and Washignton DC (at the Landmark E Street), with a limited nationwide rollout to follow. Here in South Florida it opens on Friday, September 15, in Miami at the Bill Cosford Cinema, in Boca Raton at the Living Room Theater, at The Movies of Delray and Lake Worth, and maybe elsewhere, too. Click here then scroll down to see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters.

Stephen Belber's MATCH gives Patrick Stewart, Carla Gugino and Matthew Lillard plum roles

Identity proves the pivot point in MATCH, the new film from Stephen Belber, who, back in 2009, gave us a very interesting, funny and charming rom-com entitled Management and also wrote the screenplay for Richard Linklater's Tape. One man's identity and why someone else might care about this are the questions that arise in the course of the film, written and directed by Belber and starring a very fine threesome: Patrick Stewart, Carla Gugino and Matthew Lillard, all working at close to the height of their not inconsiderable powers.

Mr. Belber, shown at right, is a writer who's very clever with dialog, as a look at his resume will demonstrate. Here his screenplay, extremely dialog-heavy, is also adapted from his original play and is full of exposition done smartly and for a very good reason. The film's beginning is all about a graduate student (Ms Gugino) and her interview with a famous dancer, choreographer and teacher (Mr. Stewart), abetted by the student's not particularly helpful husband (Mr. Lillard). A lot of history is covered quickly and smartly, with Stewart playing the ever-so-slightly preening celebrity, enjoying a new moment or two in the sun, as he regales his listeners with stories of his life and career.

It is not long before we realize that the agenda here is something other than the stated one, and from there onwards the movie -- highly enjoyable from its outset -- becomes even more so, as well as exciting and surprising.  This is a role different from anything Stewart, shown above and below, has previously tackled (in my memory, at least), and it requires him to run the kind of gamut of emotions we're not used to seeing from this actor. He nails every nook and cranny.

Ms Gugino, below, comes through beautifully, too. Always a gifted actress, as well as a beauty, she brings a special vulnerability to her role that becomes more endearing and moving as the movie rolls along.

Mr. Lillard (below, left) is probably the biggest surprise here. Too often relegated to bozo roles earlier in his career, he comes into his own quite beautifully as the hubby with issues too heavy for him to handle. He's angry, closed off, and frightened of his own strength, which he's beginning to use in ways not at all wise.

Match is a kind of chamber piece; we see a few other performers along the way but it's these three who count for everything, and they play off each other beautifully. I would think this movie must have been a joy to film; it certainly is one to view.

The movie -- from IFC Films and running 92 minutes -- opens this Wednesday here in New York City at, I suspect, the IFC Center; in Los Angeles look for it at Laemmle's Playhouse 7 and Music Hall 3. If you're located elsewhere than on either coast, fear not, for the film makes it VOD debut simultaneously with its theatrical opening. 

DVDebut & dance-buff's delight: NEVER STAND STILL--Dancing at Jacob's Pillow

A don't-miss for dance enthusiasts and in some ways an even better film than Wim Wenders' wonderful Pina (and a good deal better than the recent dance competition thriller First Position), NEVER STAND STILL: Dancing at Jacob's Pillow proves a worthy addition to the canon of fine films about dance. Narrated by Bill T. Jones (though in truth there is very little narration), the documentary is comprised of a wide variety of smart, enthusiastic talking heads and an absolute cornucopia of terrific (and relatively lengthy, for a change) slices of actual dance from various companies both modern and classical. And all there at Jacob's Pillow.

Directed by Ron Honsa (shown at right, with Marge Champion, another ex-dancer of note, and now dance-champion in ways other than her name, who also appears in the film), the movie offers a wonderful smorgasbord of ballet, jazz-inflected, and contemporary dance via dancers and their companies from all over the world. There's even one terrific number reflecting social dance as performance art from the Mimulus Dance Company of Brazil (the photo below is by Guto Muniz). Beautifully photographed by newcomer Jimmy O'Donnell and vet Etienne Sauret and edited with joy and precision by another newcomer Charles Yurick, the film is able to capture these varied performers and styles remarkably well, giving us a real treasure of a view of what's going on in modern dance now, along with a look at the current and aging masters of the form.

We also get some nice historical footage of our country's ground-breakers in this field, including Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn -- the man who began Jacob's Pillow as kind of dance school, retreat and theater, all of which it has remained, while flourishing and growing with our changing times. (The photo below is of his famous Men Dancers, performing Kenetic Molpai.)

Although the documentary moves quickly (it lasts barely 75 minutes), the filmmakers enable us to truly get a sense of the art and style of each performer and/or troupe they capture via the direction, cinematography and editing. In this sense, it's an appetizer whetting our palate for more from each of the performers -- which include everyone from Rasta Thomas and his Bad Boys of Dance to The Suzanne Farrell Ballet (shown below), Mark Morris, Joanna Haigood, The Royal Danish Ballet, Judith Jamison, along with several others.

Another pleasure of the film is hearing various choreographers -- Merce Cunningham, for instance -- discuss their work, what they love and what they go after in their dances. We also, again, see enough of that work to actually understand and appreciate it. One of the highlights here is Paul Taylor, talking about then and now, as we watch his splendid company perform.

Never Stand Still is a gift for dance aficionados; if you count yourself among them, see it. Distributed by First Run Features, the DVD hits the streets this Tuesday, July 17, for sale, rental and probably, semi-soon, streaming, too.