Z/Web

Author: Hans Christian Anderson (story) and Michael Powell

Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

I’ll confess up front that I bought this movie knowing next to nothing about it. I’m glad I did; it’s a very cool film. It’s about ballet dancers. Sounds boring, right? Actually, it wasn’t. We follow the life of a ballerina and her composer boyfriend as they become world famous via their production of “The Red Shoes,” a ballet based on the Hans Christian Anderson story about a ballerina whose red shoes cause her to dance and dance until she dies. Ultimately this film is about the conflict between love of art and human love, as the lead is asked to choose between dancing and her boyfriend. Quite a complex and unusual movie. The pacing is very different; it seems like it shouldn’t work, but it does. I need to watch it again to figure out why.

Author: Werner Herzog

Director: Werner Herzog

An unusual movie about a man in the Amazon who tries to establish an opera house in the middle of the jungle. He goes through incredible feats to achieve this; you really have to see the film to understand. Lushly photographed; excellent acting. Fascinating look at a man’s pursuit of a dream and what it will take to achieve it.