And Then We Danced (2020)

Film: And Then We Danced (2020)
Stars: Levan Gelbakhiani, Ana Javakishvili, Bachi Valishvili, Giorgi Tsereteli
Director: Levan Akin
Oscar History: The movie was Sweden's choice (even though it takes place entirely in Georgia) for International Feature Film, but it wasn't selected, even for the bakeoffs.
Snap Judgment Ranking: 4/5 stars

I had initially wanted to do five films from 2020 this week, but the week got away from me and I ended up doing some cleaning & much-needed decompression yesterday, so I didn't get to watch a fifth film.  I am very into bringing more movies from 2020 to light, however, and hopefully we'll do at least one of these weeks a month until theaters open (at which point I'll go back to writing new movie reviews as soon as I see them), so that you know some of your options for streaming and rental.  We're going to complete with a film that might technically not count as "2020" as it certainly was released in some countries last year, but I am blocking it into 2020 since it was only made commercially available in my market (the United States, and more-specifically the Midwestern United States) this year: And Then We Danced.

(Spoilers Ahead) The movie is about Merab (Gelbakhiani), a young dancer who is the son of multiple generations of Georgian dancers, who is training to become a performer with the country's main touring company (which will get to play at La Scala and Royal Albert Hall, essentially a rare pass to get out of a rather cloistered existence).  However, he is accused of being too feminine in his dancing, and is being replaced in rehearsals by Irakli (Valishvili), a more conventionally-masculine dancer with whom he initially forms a rivalry, and then eventually a friendship that blossoms into a brief romance.  In Georgia, homosexuality is not illegal but it is considered extremely taboo, and thus Merab & Irakli are toying with their futures as dancers, or potentially getting into the main touring company.  Eventually, Irakli leaves without telling Merab, who accidentally outs himself when he is seen with a male prostitute at a gay nightclub, and he descends into issues with alcohol.  The film ends with his brother David (Tsereteli) finding out that Merab is gay, and accepting him but insisting that he "get out" for his own happiness which he agrees with after realizing that Irakli is engaged to a girl, and not willing to take any risks for their relationship.  The ending of the film is left ambiguous, with Merab beautifully dancing, but in a more modern take on classic Georgian dancing, making his future with the dance company uncertain.

If you've heard of this film as an American, it's likely either in the context of the Oscar submission (for which, as I said above, it was unsuccessful in getting very far) or in relation to the protests the movie caused.  Anti-gay groups threatened screenings of the film in Georgia, and the Georgian Orthodox Church disapproved of the film publicly; the protests resulted in injuries for some of those involved.  This is a weird thing to know in conjunction to the film, because what makes And Then We Danced stand apart from other prestige LGBT dramas is its weird sense of joy.

Gelbakhiani's Merab is sullen, almost on autopilot in the film's earlier scenes, but when Irakli becomes a part of his life, it's almost as if he comes alive, like a desert flower suddenly given water.  This about-face is tricky, as it could easily be read as lazy plotting by the screenwriters, but it works perfectly in the context of the movie because Merab is definitely someone who has a lot of life in him, but no one has been willing to give him any reason to show it.  It's honestly one of the more revelatory performances I've seen in a while (especially from a screen debut).  He shows young love in a gorgeous, moving way-the hidden glances over at Irakli to mimic whether he likes a song or not, the way that he seems to smile suddenly for no reason...it's exactly what it's like for a young gay person to fall in love for the first time, and I thought it was beautifully captured.  The performances are all solid (I enjoyed Valishvili doing his best Manic Pixie Dream Guy and Tsereteli, even though he gets saddled with kind of a filler storyline), but Gelbakhiani's Merab is what sticks this film's landing.

In terms of the star rating here-I wavered a bit, but am going with 4-stars because I think part of me is wanting to give it 5-stars just so that I finally have a 5-star movie for 2020 (I don't think I've ever waited this long to watch one), but I could also be second-guessing my love for it.  In a few months I'll better understand if my love for Gelbakhiani's transformation is enough to raise the bar here or if I was right to keep this one-star short of our top score due to the film's slower-moving first twenty minutes.  Either way-great movie, definitely worth a rental.