Ballet
is an elite performing art, enjoyed by kings and czars, but the USSR’s
propaganda masters tried to exploit it for their benefit, holding the graceful
dance up as an example of Soviet superiority and appealing to its traditional
significance for the Russian people. You knew when there was trouble, because
state TV would suddenly broadcast Swan
Lake. However, their ballet strategy backfired when high-profile dancers
defected to the West. It wasn’t just Nureyev. There was also Baryshnikov,
Godunov, Makarova, Panov, and the Koslovs. A rising prima ballerina is deeply
concerned her brother intends to join their ranks and even more fearful of what
steps their handler might take to stop him in Allison Mattox’s short film, Échappé, which screens during this
year’s Dance on Camera.
It
is 1970. Cold War tensions are mounting, so the stakes are high for the ballet
company’s “good will” tour. Nikolai Andreyev is probably their biggest star,
but his sister Vera Andreyev’s reputation will probably soon eclipse his. She
is also considered much more politically reliable than the long-suspect
Nikolai.
Rather
awkwardly for Ms. Andreyev, her brother is about to become a victim of her
success. Believing her prestige is now sufficient to carry the company, Lionidze,
their KGB escort intends to send Nikolai home to prevent any further
international incidents (you know, to give one of those private command
performances for the Kremlin). This creates a crisis of conscience for
motherland-loving ballerina.
Even
though Échappé is set during the
beginning of the polyester 1970s, it looks terrific thanks to the exquisite
lensing of cinematographer Beth Napoli. Frankly, this is one of the best
looking films this year, of any length. Beyond questions of cinematic
aesthetics, it also helps showcase Martin Harvey’s choreography in a favorable
light (so to speak), which patrons of Dance on Camera will surely appreciate.
Leads
Olesya Senchenko and Pavel Shatu certainly both look like glamorous dancers,
but they also respond well to each other. On the other side of the spectrum, Nikolai
Tsankov is deeply sinister, in a slavishly apparatchik kind of way, as Lionidze.
Indeed, Échappé is a well-crafted
film in all respects, including Mattox’s screenplay. Instead of merely echoing White Crow, Échappé very definitely has its own identity, which really comes
into sharp relief when the intelligent ironies of its conclusion are revealed.
Very highly recommended for fans of dance and Cold War films, Échappé screens with the documentary Three
Dances this Sunday afternoon (7/14), as part of Dance on Camera 2019.