In this blog post, I will examine Pina Bausch’s artistic world, the physical language left behind by the Wuppertal Dance Company, and the longing and process of reenactment they expressed, focusing on director Wim Wenders’ documentary ‘Pina’.

Film Information

Title: ‘Pina’ / 104 minutes. Genre: Documentary. Director: Wim Wenders. Cast: Pina Bausch, members of the Wuppertal Dance Company. The artistic world of Pina Bausch, the genius choreographer who changed the history of dance, is revived by her students.
‘The Rite of Spring’ conveys the energy and vitality of spring through violent group choreography, while ‘Café Müller’ minimalistically captures human longing and loneliness. ‘Kontakthof’ deals with the curiosity, desire, and cruelty that arise in relationships between men and women, and ‘Full Moon’ is a raw dance that struggles with the inner world of terror and fear amidst wind and rain while yearning for love. Through Pina Bausch’s masterpieces, the dancers of Wuppertal sensually express primal human emotions; Pina’s artistic world, infused into their movements, and their dynamic longing for her permeate the entire film.

Reason for Selection

I first learned about “Pina” through the activities her students organized after she passed away, and those clips were scenes from “Pina” itself. I first saw “Pina” that way four years ago, and then watched it a second and third time. At first, the dancers’ movements simply seemed fascinating, and it looked as though living muscles were speaking in place of words.
As I kept watching, it seemed as though they were pouring out words they longed to say but couldn’t convey onto the stage through her dance. From that moment on, I’ve remembered ‘Pina’ as a film more poignant and moving than any romance. That made me even more curious: why did the members of the Wuppertal company miss Pina so deeply, and what kind of dance did they perform to channel that longing?
As I came to understand Pina’s artistic world, I began to grasp why the Wuppertal dancers missed her—even their innermost feelings—and by the end of the film, I felt that their final dance was tearfully beautiful.

Sequence Summary and Analysis

The exterior of the theater is shown, followed by the empty interior. Pina’s face appears briefly, and a dancer carrying an accordion introduces spring, summer, autumn, and winter in sequence. Next, dancers emerge in a line. They express the four seasons through simple movements, passing each other by.
The stage is covered in dirt, and a dancer lying on a red cloth comes into view. Dancers gradually join one by one, each looking in a different direction and dancing differently. Their movements end at the dirt spread across the floor. They press their bodies against the dirt, appearing to absorb the energy of nature, and soon continue with even more lively and vigorous movements.
The female dancers, as if they have realized the true nature of the red cloth, dance in unison, becoming one, and then form a confrontational dynamic with the male dancers who appear on the opposite side. We also see Pina directing the group dance in the rehearsal room, and the dancers’ movements grow increasingly intense.
In interviews with the troupe members, they mention that she constantly asked questions. They say that to express her image, they had to become someone like Pina, and to express a word, they had to become that word. A scene also appears of a dancer dancing while walking in place on an escalator.
A projection shows Pina explaining the emotions she felt while discussing “Café Müller.” We see the troupe members making detailed plans while looking at a miniature model, and they then move onto the stage. There are numerous chairs on the stage, and when a woman walks by, a man clears the chairs blocking her path.
We see a man dancing in a park, and he speaks about Kazuo Ohno. Recalling the time Kazuo Ohno and Pina danced together, “Café Müller” is shown again. Dancers stack chairs high and dance as they move between them; this is intercut with an interview of a man reflecting on what Pina once told him and another man explaining who Pina was.
Dancers performing different movements within the same space are shown, followed by a black-and-white image of Pina standing in “Café Müller,” which leads into the company’s performance of “Café Müller” . The images of current company members intersecting with Pina and interviews recalling her continue, and the increasingly intense “Café Müller” intersects with a performance expanding into the city center.
“The Rite of Spring” appears again. We see dancers performing in the city streets, having left the theater. Interviews recalling Pina’s teachings and the dancers’ individual performances follow one after another, as the “Kontakthof” inside the theater and the performance outside continue to intertwine. The emotions flow as if they were extensions of one another.
Next, Pina’s image is projected onto the screen.
The performance gradually expands beyond the stage. One dancer leaves an interview stating that they will wait for Pina forever and pleading for her to appear in their dreams. A dance sequence follows, depicting a relentless struggle to grasp something, while personal emotions regarding Pina’s legacy and her death are expressed through interviews.
Interviews reflecting on the essence of art as Pina once described it continue, and dancers step outside to dance, hindered by the stage set. The dance, expressing the suffocation of confinement and the desire to break free, continues both inside and outside the theater.
We see “The Rite of Spring” again, a dance unfolding on a windy hill; then Pina dancing inside the theater once more; and scenes of the company performing “Kontakthof.” As the performance ends, so does the film “Pina.”

Documentary Analysis

Characters, Setting, Events

All the Wuppertal dancers appearing in the film begin with “Pina” and end with “Pina.” Yet, every time they dance, their living, breathing muscles speak their own distinct language. One cannot fully know or understand Pina through their interviews alone.
Because each person has a different image of Pina and different memories of her, their modes of expression are equally diverse. Some express longing through intense movements, while others display happiness through smiling faces. If we were to separate each person’s story, enough distinct films could be derived from them. The fact that this film cannot be summed up in a single sentence is its charm.
Pina once said that the correct interpretation is whatever the audience feels and perceives when watching a performance, and through their dance, they convey that whatever emotions we feel or images we conjure while watching this film are the correct ones. They introduce themselves through dance and conclude by reminiscing about Pina through dance. The interview narration, combined with their expressions as they sit quietly, reinforces this. They are saying everything through dance alone.

Form

Following Pina’s sudden death, the film is driven by the perspectives of her students and the director as they pay tribute to her. The film follows the memories of the Wuppertal Company members, building up recollections and reenactments of Pina. It is difficult to clearly distinguish the film’s form within the narrative framework.
The emotional arc of the film, as I saw it, is divided into the dancers’ process of understanding Pina, Pina’s artistic philosophy, the Pina each dancer remembers, the process of reviving longing through dance, and ultimately, the dancers’ acceptance of Pina. Through the dancers’ interviews and dance, we come to understand why they sought to become Pina and how their movements changed after accepting her.
Pina never ceased her exploration of the essence of dance, and she said that a performance only truly exists in that specific place and time. Her artistic philosophy helped the dancers overcome their fear of stepping out onto the streets barefoot, and this soon manifested as the authentic language of the body. As we follow the dancers as they dance in remembrance of Pina, who has passed away, a narrative arc expressed through the language of the body unfolds.

Conclusion and Reflections

This is a work that consistently reminds me that a biographical documentary can be expressed in this way. It took quite a long time for their movements to evolve from appearing as mere dance to being perceived as a poignant longing for Pina.
If I were to watch “Pina” again after a long time, I don’t know what kind of “Pina” I would encounter then. But there will undoubtedly be changing emotions within it as well.