A biased, filled with preconceptions, panegyric like documentary. For the sake of the truth, after Bausch's death, Wenders gave up on the documentary and made an eulogy instead. Repetitive and simplistic monologues from the dancers about Bausch, that, unfortunately, never seem to even scratch the surface of what the choreographer must have been. If you're looking to know something about her, don't bother.
For me, as I didn't go see it to know about her (fairly ignorant on modern dance I must confess), it has very interesting visual moments. I was very curious to see what Wenders would do with 3d, and I wasn't disappointed. For the critics, that say that 3d made the some characters seem too clean, almost virtual, and the background sometimes blurry, this is a movie (not a documentary in fact), a Wenders movie, not a live Bausch dance performance. And the 3d moments, as visual interpretations made by Wenders, are very very smart and beautiful.
One thing keeps me annoyed in Wenders movies anyway: he's too cocky and full of himself. It shows again in Pina. He just keeps being meddlesome. The camera doesn't stand still enough time, as he tries to show "artistic" camera movements. There are beautiful framed shots, that he trashes in a few seconds, making sudden close-ups, shifts and this modern tendency to very slowly keep the camera in movement, as if the viewer would fall asleep if the goddamn shot is still for more than half a second; or the small straighten up of the camera to re-frame. Annoying.
For me, as I didn't go see it to know about her (fairly ignorant on modern dance I must confess), it has very interesting visual moments. I was very curious to see what Wenders would do with 3d, and I wasn't disappointed. For the critics, that say that 3d made the some characters seem too clean, almost virtual, and the background sometimes blurry, this is a movie (not a documentary in fact), a Wenders movie, not a live Bausch dance performance. And the 3d moments, as visual interpretations made by Wenders, are very very smart and beautiful.
One thing keeps me annoyed in Wenders movies anyway: he's too cocky and full of himself. It shows again in Pina. He just keeps being meddlesome. The camera doesn't stand still enough time, as he tries to show "artistic" camera movements. There are beautiful framed shots, that he trashes in a few seconds, making sudden close-ups, shifts and this modern tendency to very slowly keep the camera in movement, as if the viewer would fall asleep if the goddamn shot is still for more than half a second; or the small straighten up of the camera to re-frame. Annoying.