The English translation of the title of Cédric Klapisch’s latest could be a little more evocative. The original French title, En Corps, is a kind of double entendre, both something related to the body and also the company of a dance troupe. Appropriately so, as this film is all about the self-discovery journey of Elise (Marion Barbeau), a classical ballet prima donna who struggles to reclaim her place in the dance world after breaking her ankle on stage.
Her affliction is emotional as well as physical; it occurs right after Elise discovers that her dancer boyfriend is cheating on her. When told that she might never perform again, Elise is ready to accept her fate. Nevertheless, while staying at an artists’ residency in Brittany as an extra pair of hands in the kitchen, Elise finds her way to healing – both physically and mentally – through mixing with a contemporary dance group.
While the supposed dichotomy between classical ballet and contemporary dance feels naive and rather simplistic, there is a life-affirming quality in how the film captures the recovery process: it is not a solitary act but a communal one, as the healing of Elise’s body is made possible only by being among the collective of other creative souls. For a first-time actor in a feature film, Barbeau, a trained ballet dancer in the Paris Opera, gives a beautiful performance that communicates the emotional interiority that exists in the physicality of dancing – bringing to mind Moira Shearer in The Red Shoes (1948). Although Rise stumbles occasionally in the humour department, Barbeau’s presence is nothing short of a star-making turn.
• Rise (En Corps) is released on 18 November at Ciné Lumiere, London.
