Indie Film Review – NY Export: Opus Jazz

January 20th, 2011 | POSTED BY Allen Almachar

Another scene I found fascinating involved two secret lovers. Bored with being in a diner with their other friends, the two break away and find themselves in a field next to a river. Slowly but surely, the two come together, moving and interacting in a way that shows the passion that they have for one another. Unlike the energetic and rhythmic style of the other scenes, this scene is much slower, taking its time, focusing much more on the love that the two have rather than on the complexity of the choreography. Set to a sad, melodic score, the scene is very passionate, almost to the point of near eroticism; but, of course, that is the only way to show how these two feel about one another, and if you pay attention to the close of the scene, you’ll see that the two will probably never be able to show this side of themselves to anyone else.

This is a finely made dance movie for lovers of the art form. It is gorgeously photographed, the colors seem to pop right out through the screen, and all of the dancers perform at the highest caliber. I particularly enjoyed the end, where the film broke away from the dancing to become a cinematic love note to New York City, highlighting a number of its famous landmarks and bustling streets. I would have liked to see the filmmakers incorporate a narrative in to the film, some sort of story to tie all of the scenes together. The feeling is there, of course, but I think it would be more engaging to the average viewer to have even the slightest plot to attach to; that would’ve propelled the film from being very good to great. But for dance enthusiasts, I feel that they will very much enjoy this movie. Much of the choreography is retained from Robbins’ original production, and many of the locations are directly inspired by Shahn’s production designs. This film set out with a particular goal in mind, and regardless of whether or not you enjoy dancing, I feel it accomplished it.

Final Grade: B+

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Ben Shahn, Ellen Bar, Henry Joost, Jerome Robbins, Jody Lee Lipes, NY Export: Opus Jazz, Robert Prince, Sean Suozzi, West Side Story