RISE
| 2023 – 118′ – Comedy, Drama, Romance
Written by: Cédric Klapisch, Santiago Amigorena.
Directed by: Cédric Klapisch.
Starring: Marion Barbeau, Denis Podalydès, Muriel Robin, Pio Marmaï, Souheila Yacoub, François Civil, Mehdi Baki, Hofesh Shechter.
West Coast Premiere at The American French Film Festival 2022.
In French with English subtitles.
A Blue Fox Entertainment release.|
Director Cédric Klapisch has long been fascinated by the dance; it’s a theme that has run through his work since his 2008 film Paris, about a chorus boy awaiting a heart transplant. He’s directed two documentaries, on one dancer and four choreographers at the Opéra de Paris. His last feature, Someone, Somewhere, ends with an enchanting kompa dance lesson. And his short Zoom montage of ballet dancers rehearsing at home during the first Covid lockdown literally went viral on YouTube. With Rise, the director embraces that passion, no holds barred, and in doing so, offers us his most sumptuously beautiful film to date. The story is a simple one. Elise, a ballerina with the prestigious Opéra de Paris, is about to dance her first starring role. Mid-performance she slips, injures herself and is told she may never dance again. That news, which could be the end of any dancer’s career, becomes an awakening for Elise, as she sets off to discover what life has in store for her. The film stars Marion Barbeau, premier danseur with the Opéra de Paris, in her first dramatic role. Moving from ballet to break-dance to modern dance, Klapisch sets us on a journey through an entire universe of movement, from the lyrical world of classical ballet to a final life-affirming explosion of Hofesh Shechter’s pulsing contemporary choreography.