Prevailing beliefs acknowledge communication in terms of the spoken or written word, and rarely are ideas wittingly traded outside of this realm. German choreographer Pina Bausch paid no heed to such restraints, and as one can see in Wim Wenders’ new documentary Pina, she championed communication through dramatic movement. In fact, it is mused upon at one point during the film that movement can define certain things that no words can so viscerally explicate.

Filmed in 3D (a genre that Wenders has now said he will never leave), Pina is a bright, powerful homage 20 years in the planning. Two days before the production was scheduled to begin, the protagonist herself died, having been diagnosed with cancer 5 days prior. Nonetheless, the story of Bausch’s lifelong endeavors and convictions are told through her choreography and performed by her enduring dance troupe Tanztheater Wuppertal. The resplendent sets are true to Pina’s vision, and her love for incorporating the elements into her choreographies – whether it be soil, water or rock – is emphatically embraced. Through movement and the occasional voice Wenders manages to encompass the nature of this woman in the way she would have conveyed herself, and thus we learn that words are not always necessary.

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