Coppelia
The famous ballet is given a new approach in an enterprisingly original adaptation.
We have here a dance film which could hardly be more adventurous and some parts of it – but not all – are highly successful. Its character may surprise ballet fans familiar with the work created in 1870 to music by Léo Delibes because this film treatment draws on a recent production by the Dutch National Ballet choreographed by Ted Brandson. Originally the work derived from a short story by E.T.A. Hoffmann written in 1817 and entitled The Sandman which would also become the basis of Act I of Offenbach’s 1881 opera The Tales of Hoffmann. But here the adaptation goes even further since the story is now told with contemporary references that are made central to it (you could almost call it a fairytale for the 21st century) and, while dance is at the heart of it, the film blends together live action, stylised settings and animation and presents this mix with a new score by Maurizio Malagnini.
This could sound offbeat in an intimidating way so it is important to stress that the film is very accessible and seems designed to appeal to a wide audience of all ages. There is no dialogue in the film and no titles to elaborate the plot, but the story speaks for itself. The town in which it takes place has not itself been modernised to any degree but the young heroine is portrayed by the black dancer Michaela DePrince who lives there with her mother (Glynis Terborg) and the initial scenes – particularly delightful – feature her budding mixed-race romance with the town’s bicycle repair man (Daniel Camargo). Malagnini is noted for his scores for television and the music he provides for this film is old-fashioned in an entirely agreeable way.
The opening scenes also introduce some of the established townsfolk (appearances here by such notables as Darcey Bussell and Irek Mukhamedov among others) and to other youngsters who are friends of the central couple. The big plot development that follows shows the arrival in town of a menacing figure (Vito Mazzeo) who brings with him robotic assistants that he has created including the glamorous Coppelia (Erica Horwood). This alarming man is out to exploit the inhabitants through his abilities as a surgeon – cosmetic or otherwise – and he specifically threatens our central couple because he wants to steal the young man's heart so that it can be used to bring Coppelia fully to life. To that end she is made to seduce the youth and to lure him inside the modern tower-like structure which is where her master carries out his experiments. The most modern element here lies in the fact that the visitor uses the media to persuade the townsfolk that they need to submit to his procedures and change their appearance. They think that this will maintain their looks or even restore their youth but in the process they will lose their individuality and become more like automatons. There's something of old traditional folk tales in all this but also something that speaks to today's world and the power of social media in pressurising many, youngsters especially, regarding their image.
The filmmakers are very adroit here in blending the live dancers with the animated elements and the stylised sets. No less importantly they have created a film highly sensitive to movement. What I mean by that is that it goes far beyond the effective presentation of the dance movements of the artists. Consider the use of close-ups of hand movements, the emphasis on facial expressions (not least for DePrince and Terborg) and indeed the visual expressiveness of the editing: everything coheres tellingly. Not all of this is new, but the fact that this Coppelia brings other movies to mind will only add to the pleasure of film buffs. Some reacting to the use of animation in a dance film will think of Invitation to the Dance (1954) and, indeed, other touches also recall the musicals of Gene Kelly while at times one is reminded of Jacques Demy’s Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (1967).
It's also the case that the storyline is such that it evokes not only the Powell and Pressburger treatment of The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) but the dramatic world of Metropolis, the Willy Wonka films and even Invasion of the Body Snatchers. But, while these echoes add to one's enjoyment, this very enterprising film does suffer from one major setback: as the plot develops, the efforts to escape from the clutches of the villain take over the film and in the process the dance format is in danger of being overwhelmed by the story. At the very end, dance regains its hold but sadly the film’s second half is as a whole far less beguiling than the first. Nevertheless, this is a bold venture and it offers much that will delight. It would be a pity to miss it.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Michaela DePrince, Daniel Camargo, Vito Mazzeo, Glynis Terborg, Erica Horwood, Darcey Bussell, Jan Kooijan, Irek Mukhamedov, Igone de Jongh, Nancy Burer, Mao Jing Jing.
Dir Jeff Tudor, Steven de Beul and Ben Tesseur, Pro Bruno Felix, Adrienne Liron, Janneke van de Kerkhof and Femke Wolting, Ph Tristan Oliver, Pro Des Vincent de Pater, Ed Michel Reichwein, Music Maurizio Malagnini, Costumes François-Noël Cherpin.
Submarine/3 Minutes West/Motion Works/Lunanime-Modern Films.
82 mins. Netherlands/Belgium/Germany. 2021. UK Rel: 1 April 2022. Cert. U.
