Even for those who know little about dance, Merce Cunningham is a recognizable name - an iconic figure in his field. His mid-20th century collaborations with composer John Cage (his lifelong partner) and visual artist Robert Rauschenberg were central to an era of transformation. Cunningham resisted "avant-garde" or any other label. "I don't describe it. I do it," he once said. Now, with Cunningham, we have a chance to experience what he did. Filmmaker Alla Kovgan assembles th... (Full plot summary below)
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Even for those who know little about dance, Merce Cunningham is a recognizable name - an iconic figure in his field. His mid-20th century collaborations with composer John Cage (his lifelong partner) and visual artist Robert Rauschenberg were central to an era of transformation. Cunningham resisted "avant-garde" or any other label. "I don't describe it. I do it," he once said. Now, with Cunningham, we have a chance to experience what he did. Filmmaker Alla Kovgan assembles the last generation of Cunningham dancers (led by Merce Cunningham Dance Company assistant director of choreography Jennifer Goggans) to present landmark works from the Cunningham repertoire. The film concentrates on the three decades from 1942 to 1972 when Cunningham was making his reputation. Gorgeously shot in 3D, Cunningham brings us closer to these works than any audience has ever been before. Taking an inventive approach with locations, the film places dancers in evocative backdrops such as a tunnel, a high-rise rooftop, and a forest. These current-day performances are interlaced with archival footage of Cunningham speaking and moving. We also hear illuminating interviews with Cage, Rauschenberg, and members of the original Merce Cunningham Dance Company, who endured years of rejection and outrage before they slowly won over audiences. "I never believed that idea that dancing was the greatest of the arts," said Cunningham. "But when it clicks, there's the rub. It becomes memorable. And one can be seduced all over again." Whether you come to Cunningham as a neophyte or an aficionado, you'll leave with a rich experience of his art.
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| The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenWhat Kovgan's utterly transporting film does, through a thoughtful and dynamic combination of curated material and new performances, is radiate the rapturous power of dance. |
| VarietyTomris LafflyKovgan’s ode to choreography master Merce Cunningham is sensational in every sense of the word. Renewing one’s appreciation of the many wonders of the human body and the space in which it fills and drifts, Cunningham celebrates all the things our joints and flexed muscles are capable of, as seen through the mind and poetic dances of an iconic creator. |
| Boston GlobePeter Keough“[Dance] gives you nothing back,” says Cage. “No manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive.” Kovgan’s film comes close to capturing that moment. |
| Original-CinLiam LaceyThe film is kinetic and elliptical, with clips from different eras juxtaposed in panels, moving back to a single frame of dancers’ feet, or artfully posed in instants of euphoria. This is a film that makes you want to absorb the language of dance or, at least, immerse yourself in more Merce, which makes this an exemplary introduction to a major twentieth century artist. |
| RogerEbert.comNick AllenThere’s been nothing quite like Alla Kovgan’s Cunningham, an exhilarating testament to documentaries as a boundless form of art. |
| Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranCunningham makes good on its stated goal of doing justice to the man’s spirit of inventiveness. |
| Screen DailySarah WardNever making an obvious move, like its subject, the end result veers close to avant-garde. That’s a term that Cunningham himself famously and continually shunned; however Kovgan clearly doesn’t share the same concern. |
| San Francisco ChronicleRachel HowardIn Cunningham, the presentation is riveting. |
| The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Chandler LevackIf we are take Merce Cunningham at his word, and the joys of dance really are ephemeral, Cunningham makes a compelling case for the doing of it, over and over again. |
| Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiCunningham adheres to a distinctly romantic approach to the artist: irascible and railing against the hypocrisy of humanity through these wonderful and complicated movements that soar above and beyond. |
