In "Le Bal" (1983) directed by Ettore Scola, the 50 year history of Europe happens in front of you in one ballroom somewhere in Paris where the same actors play the different characters that live through their dances From 1930s to the 1980s as the time passes by and politics, social behavior, and fashion change with each new epoch... For less than two hours we would go through the wars, peace, racial conflicts, student riots of 1968 while Ettore Scola's camera never leaves the ballroom. Dialogues and relationships are realized through the music and dancing only with no word spoken. Ironically, the film was nominated by the Academy for the Best Foreign Language movie award. It should have been nominated for the best Universal Language award - the language of music . The soundtrack features the works of such composers as Frederick Chopin, Irving Berlin, John Lennon, and Paul Mc Cartney. The original music was written by one of my favorite film composers, Vladimir Cosma. I saw "Le Bal" over twenty years ago and it has stayed with me over all these years as fantastic, one of its kind unforgettable film.
Review of Le Bal
