With Gallant Indies, presented at the 19th Doclisboa, director Philippe Béziat crafts a beautiful, simmering, multilayered film addressing contemporary issues, with flair and a spectacular cinematography.
Lisbon’s International Documentary Film Festival, Doclisboa, has just wrapped up its 19th edition, which unfolded from October 21st to October 31st. As part of its rich program, we delved into the Heart Beat film section, and discovered the fantastic Gallant Indies, directed by Philippe Béziat, known for opera-documentaries Pelleas and Melisande (2008) and Becoming Traviata (2012).
Gallant Indies is first and foremost a fascinating art project, which began when filmmaker Clément Cogitore agreed to stage Jean-Philippe Rameau’s baroque masterpiece Les Indes galantes (1735) at Paris Operae Paris, alongside acclaimed choreographer Bintou Dembélé. By combining urban dance such as hip-hop, krump, break, and voguing with classical music, they look to challenge the cultural expectations of this venerable, four-century-old institution.
By bringing together urban dance and opera singing, they reinvent Les Indes Galantes. From rehearsals to public performances, Philippe Béziat’s film immerses us into a human adventure and a meeting of political realities, suggesting us the following pertinent, unspoken question: can a new generation of artists storm the Bastille today?
Early on, the film takes us right to the heart of a vibrating collective project. A project aiming at bringing together not only the urban dancers, but also the whole crew consisting of the directors, choreographer, singers, technicians, assistants and so on. One gets to see how they all interact with one another, and witnesses the beautiful relationship they get to build during the rehearsals, between the auditions and the premiere.
Then, it is clear that the production is foremost a visual one. There is grand beauty to Gallant Indies, especially when considering how difficult of a task filming dance is. Director Philippe Béziat proves successful at crafting such an immersive film where one can feel the emotion, and the energy which emanates from the dancers. It almost felt like I wouldn’t have been able to feel it as intimately if I were actually present.
In addition to that, the film aptly pieces together perceptive and deeply honest voiceovers in which the various dancers get to introduce themselves. As we see them rehearse and dance, we hear about themselves, their past, their thoughts, feelings, etc. What a great way of making the film feel more intimate! In this regard, the editor deserves credit for this apt combination of the images, the stories in voiceover, and the overall vibe.
“I wanted to show characters who are faced with a resonance between a work of art and the reality of their lives. ”
Moreover, what strikes me in Gallant Indies is how the film combines so many different layers. A first layer centers on the physical aspect (the dance, and the dancers’ bodies), another one is more of an artistic layer (by dealing with a project combing so many different genres, from music, to dance, to opera…). Then comes a relevant, thought provoking philosophical layer when you hear the dancers’ thoughts on art, dance, life, past and present. Finally, last but not least, the director Philippe Béziat folded in a political layer, questioning topics such as race, ethnicity, social class, etc. The various contemporary political realities come into collision, to the point that the programming team of Sheffield Docfest, where Gallant Indies was presented as part of the 2021 “Rhyme and Rhythm” program, observed that in the film, “cultural barriers and societal norms are shown to fall apart, all through the power of art.”
Overall, it is a delight to witness people from different ages, countries, professions, races, and beliefs, come together on screen, in front of Philippe Béziat’s camera, in a simmering, touching and multilayered film crafted with mastery and flair.
