Films Polina

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Polina poster

Film · 2016

Polina

Original titlePolina, danser sa vie

Directed by Valérie Müller and Angelin Preljocaj · starring Anastasia Shevtsova, Juliette Binoche and Niels Schneider

  • 1 h 48 min
  • Drama
  • France
  • Released in the UK 20 December 2018
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Synopsis

In this French film starring Oscar winner for 'The English Patient' Juliette Binoche and Niels Scheneider, a young woman who is giving ballet classes travels to Moscow to get integrated into the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet, where she will try to fulfill her dream. There he meets Adrien, a really lovely French dancer. This man will help her discover not only love, but also, and more importantly for her, a new way of dancing, more contemporary and expressive. He will teach her a type of dance that will change her life forever. When she grows into a young woman, she ends up moving towards modern dance and choreography. This drama is co-written and co-directed by Angelin Preljocaj and Valérie Müller.

The essentials

Runtime
108 min1 hour and 48 minutes
How long is Polina?
1 hour and 48 minutes (108 minutes).
When was Polina released in the UK?
It was released in the UK on 20 December 2018.
Who directed Polina?
Valérie Müller and Angelin Preljocaj.
Who is in Polina?
It stars Anastasia Shevtsova, Juliette Binoche, Niels Schneider and Kseniya Kutepova.
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Cast

Full cast (9)
Director
Valérie Müller, Angelin Preljocaj
Writers
Valérie Müller

Videos and trailers

See the video
'Polina' English subtitled trailer 1:3825 November 2018

Photos and posters

All 15 photos

Reviews

All 3 reviews

What the critics say average 6.8 from 3 outlets

  • 7.5 Roger EbertSheila O'Malley The most important thing 'Polina' does?and it is testament, again, to the involvement of Preljocaj, a man who has devoted his life to dance?is that it shows that the everyday life of an artist is… Read
  • 7.0 New York TimesGlenn Kenny If this film?s directors, Valérie Müller and the French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, don?t offer much overt material on Polina?s inner life, it?s because they don?t have to: the point of Polina… Read
  • 6.0 VarietyOwen Gleiberman 'Polina' is vivid as dance but vague as drama. Read

Soundtrack

See the song
  1. Concerto for violin and orchestraViolin Adele Anthony, Conducted T, Yuada Spotify

Trivia

  • Great casting

    As many as 600 dancers were auditioned by the directors for the main female role.

  • Based on a comic strip

    The movie is loosely based on the comic strip by Bastien Vivès ('Polina', 2011).

  • Autobiographical elements

    The movie contains some autobiographical elements: Angelin Preljocaj's parents were poor Albanian refugees (Polina's parents are lower middle class Russians); when he came to France he first lived in a modest suburb (Polina struggles financially after she leaves Aix); he studied classical dance before moving on to modern (just like Polina).

If you liked Polina

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