Amelia

Introduction

This is the multi-award winning modern dance film from 2002, choreographed and directed by Édouard Lock, and performed by Locks own company, La La La Human Steps.

The release consists of two discs, the first containing the performance of Amelia (together with some fascinating DVD-specific extras - more on these later), the second being a retrospective of the work developed by Lock and his company of the 25 years of its existence.

Video

The picture quality (especially in the main programme) is outstanding. A lot of thought went into the use of lighting (André Turpin) and camerawork (Lock), and this must have been one of the main reasons as to why the film won so many awards.

It`s amazing what some clever lighting can do to what is for all intents and purposes, a wooden box.

Audio

The sound is very good indeed (for the most part), and can be listened to in stereo or DTS - nice thumping bass lines in certain numbers really need this option.

The music is composed by David Lang, who has created a fasincating soundtrack, mostly just for violin, cello and piano (apart from No.6 which is a more techno affair, employing guitar, drums and electro acoustic effects). Much of it has a minimalist feel, matching the set design, yet can manage some startlingly emotional moments, not least the opening number.

I would advise turning off the sub-woofer if you are going to watch with the commentary on though, as Lock has a very boomy voice which rarely changes register, and cometimes it is almost as hypnotic as some of the music itself.

I also noticed a problem with certain sections of the commentary, in which his voice went so quiet, all we can hear is a distant rumble, only to come to the fore again a minute or so afterwards.

Features

Extras for disc 1 are the most impressive. They take the form of an optional interactive view which sends you to footage of rehearsals, and other appropriate preparations for several scenes in the film. This gives an idea of how complicated this particular production was to pull off.

Édouard Lock provides commentaries in English and French. When in French, his voice had a less boomy quality and is a lot easier to listen to, but there are no subtitles for this and so we can only assume he says the same in both.

Subtitles are in French, German, Spanish and Italian. These are so that the words to the Lou Reed songs (used by David Lang in some movements) can be translated into these languages. All fair enough, but not every English speaker is going to know the complete Velvet Underground output, and with all due respect to the `vocalist` (their term - I don`t see what`s wrong with `singer`) Nadine Medawar, her diction is not clear enough to warrant the lack of English subtitles. She does have a very interesting voice though - akin to the boy in The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, but less grating.

The extra `Extras` are all on Disc 2, which is actually more of a pictorial retrospective of the work this company has done over 25 years. Many of the pieces are in photo and text form only, and appear as slideshows. Those for which there is some film stock, we are treated to `teaser` chunks of material, some more fulfilling than others, being less dance than arty video `installations` such as you would find from Turner Prize candiates (ok, perhaps not that bad). Somewhat disappointing then, but an understandable thing to add for an anniversary release such as this.

Conclusion

And then there`s the dancing!

Well, I can`t say I was an expert in anything so complex as "the use of point technique using extended intertwining solos", but after watching this, I`m certainly a great fan of it!

This piece was created from choreographies taken from a stage work of the same name, and adapted for the small screen, using camerawork and lighting, also seemingly choreographed to each of the movements.

Despite there being no tangible story, the movement seems to express almost every emotion known to us, and sometimes in super-fast speed. I suspected we may be seeing some turbo camera shots, but apart from one noticeable slow-motion run towards the beginning, everything is seen in real-time, and this dance is all the more incredible for that.

Each movement can be seen as a perfect little piece in itself (and very nicely described by Lock in the commentary, without recourse to too much technical chat, which would have left me cold, and threatening to use words like `pretentious` once or twice)

The dancers` faces play a large part in the `drama` (not that there`s actually a story here), and it helps that the members of La La La Human Steps are a very good looking bunch (not least Mistaya Hemingway - who is almost impossibly gorgeous) so that when the close-ups hit you, you are suddenly dragged out of the frenetic movement for a few moments, just to take a breath or three.

Watching the film at least once with the interactive option on is absolutely necessary, as you can see some of the visual tricks being played on us being set up (and Lock`s commentary descibes these perfectly as well).

Overall, disc 1 is exactly what the DVD medium should be used for, and a perfect example of how to do it well. Disc 2 is more of a filler, but contains a couple of nice touches.

If you`re looking for something just that little bit different, and have an hour to spare, I guarantee that you won`t notice the time go by, and you won`t just be watching it the once.