Dancing Figure

Colour, 35 mm
Hungary, 2003, 72 min
Section: Dance for the Camera

Synopsis

This stunningly beautiful film mixes solo performance with still photographs and archival footage. It represents a four-year labour of love from director-cinematographer Ferenc Grunwalsky and his “dancing figure,” performer and choreographer Andrea Ladányi. Ladányi’s movements blend sport, acrobatics, and dance, both classical and modern. Her lithe physique, sometimes clad only in layers of clear cellophane, expresses “the journey of the reviving body.”  The lighting and framing explore the metaphysical dimensions of Ladányi as a figure in space, something further accentuated by the graphic art of István Nádler, which is occasionally layered over the frame. The mesmerizing music comes from György Kurtág while Ottó Orbán’s poem “Circle Dancing” provides the film’s sole text. 
 

About the director

Ferenc Grunwalsky (b.1943, Budapest) graduated as a director and cinematographer from Budapest’s Academy of Performing Arts in 1968. He shot a number of Miklós Jancsó´ s early films and recently collaborated with Jancsó as co-screenwriter and cinematographer.  He also provided the screenplay for Márta Mészáros’ Adoption. Since 1981, he has shot all of György Szomjas’ features. Grunwalsky directed his first feature, Requiem for a Revolutionary (Vörös rekviem), in 1975. He has also directed short films, documentaries and pieces for television. His filmography includes The Last Judgment But One (Az utolsó elötti ítelet, 1979), To See the Light (Eszmélés, 1984), A Full Day (Egy teljes nap,1988), Little But Tough (Kicsi, de nagyonerös, 1989), Goldberg Variations (Goldberg variácok, 1991), Utrius (1993) and Homecoming (Visszatérés, 1998).