The White Crow is a historical and biographical drama which premiered in 2018.
The main character is the famous ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev who was born and raised in the Soviet Union.
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Director: Ralph Fiennes
** Writer: David Hare
** Based on a biography by Julie Kavanagh (2007)
** Languages spoken: Russian, French and English
** Released on DVD in 2019
** Run time: 127 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** Oleg Ivenko as Rudolf “Rudi” Nureyev (1938-1993)
** Ralph Fiennes as Alexander Pushkin (1907-1970) – a ballet teacher
** Louis Hofmann as Teja Kremke – ballet dancer (from East Germany)
** Adele Exarchopoulos as Clara Saint – a young French woman
** Raphael Personnaz as Pierre Lacotte (born 1932) – a French ballet dancer
** Anastasiya Meskova as Alla Osipenko – a ballet dancer (from the USSR)
** Maximilian Grigoriyevas as young Rudolf (age 8) (1946)
Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore, I feel free to mention some of them here.
While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Some details may have been added, altered or excluded for dramatic reasons or practical purposes.
Not everything happened exactly as shown here. But the basic story is true.
The life of Nureyev can be divided into two parts:
** Part one = 1938-1961 = he lives in the USSR
** Part two = 1961-1993 = he lives in the West
Nureyev defected to the West in 1961 while he was on a tour of Western Europe. The defection took place in an airport in Paris in June 1961. This event was a turning point in his life.
This drama covers only the first half of his life. From the day when he was born in the USSR in 1938 to the day when he defected to the West in Paris in 1961. He was born on a train. A train that was rolling along the Trans-Siberian railway. He grew up in the town of Ufa.
In the drama, Ufa appears to be a village somewhere in Siberia. But this is not true. Ufa is not in Siberia. It is located in the European part of Russia, not far from the Siberian border. Ufa is not a village and not a town. It is a city. In 1913 it had a population of 100,000. Today Ufa has a population of more than one million.
In this drama, we follow Nureyev’s life and career in the USSR. He wants to be a ballet dancer. This is why he moves from Ufa to Leningrad where he studies ballet at a local academy. In 1961, the ballet troupe is allowed to go on a tour of Western Europe. Nureyev is allowed to join this troupe, even though he is regarded as a troublemaker.
He is a white crow. This is a Russian term for someone who stands out; someone who is different and difficult. This term can be compared to the English term a black sheep in the family.
As stated above, the time frame is 1938-1961, but the drama does not follow a straight chronological line. The story jumps back and forth between events in 1961 (which we can call the present) and different events before this (which we can call the past).
What do reviewers say about this historical drama?
Here are the results of three review aggregators:
61 percent = Meta (the critics)
64 percent = Meta (the audience)
66 percent = IMDb
67 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)
80 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)
As you can see, the ratings are mixed: from 61 percent on Meta to 80 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. When you look at Meta and Rotten Tomatoes, you can see that the general audience is more positive than the professional critics.
Between the low point (Meta) and the high point (Rotten Tomatoes) we have IMDb with a rating of 66 percent which corresponds to 3.3 stars on Amazon.
If you ask me, this rating is quite appropriate. Why? This drama is not great; it is not even good; it is average.
The topic is excellent. The story of Nureyev’s life and career is interesting and deserves to be told, but in this drama, it is not done very well. There are several flaws here.
Let me explain:
# 1. The drama covers only the first part of his life from 1938 to 1961. Only his life in the USSR. The second part of his life from 1961 to 1993 is not covered at all. There is nothing about his life and career in the West.
# 2. There is not enough ballet. This is the story of a world-famous ballet dancer, but we almost never see him perform. There are only a few scenes where he is dancing and these scenes are rather short. The drama runs for more than two hours. There should be plenty of time to show us why Nureyev was so famous. But it does not really happen. It is a shame. A missed opportunity.
# 3. Nureyev was not very interested in women. He was more interested in men. But this aspect of his life is virtually ignored in this drama. It is strange that this aspect of his life is not covered here. Once or twice, there is a hint. That is all. His true feelings are not shown here.
# 4. Ralph Fiennes is not only the director of this drama He also plays a character in the drama.
He plays Alexander Pushkin who was Nureyev’s teacher and mentor in Leningrad.
A golden rule says the director of a movie should not be a member of the cast as well. In most cases, this is not a good idea. Why not? Because it means that the director has two roles to play. There is a conflict of interest. Can the director direct himself?
It seems that Fiennes was aware of this dilemma. It seems he had decided not to do this. But while the drama was still in the planning stage, one of the producers told him that prospective investors wanted to see a big name included in the cast.
Fiennes is a big name. Against his better judgement, he decided to take on the role of Pushkin. It was not a good decision.
Does Fiennes speak Russian? Yes, he does, but obviously, he is not a native speaker. I assume this is why his dialogue is limited. I also assume this is why Pushkin is often mumbling and not really speaking. He is trying to disguise the fact that he is not a native speaker.
[Fiennes is aware that the language spoken in a historical drama should be realistic. In this drama, the Russians speak Russian and the French speak French. This is as it should be. When Nureyev wants to communicate with his new friends in France, he speaks English. This is also realistic, because he does not speak French, and they do not speak Russian.]
This could have been a great drama. Unfortunately, it is not. As you can see, there are some flaws, which cannot be overlooked. I have to remove at least two stars because of these flaws. This why this drama deserves a rating of three stars (60 percent).
PS # 1. Nureyev is a documentary film which premiered in 2018. Run time: 109 minutes.
This film covers his whole life from 1938 to 1993. His life in the USSR and his life in the West.
There are statements by people who knew him and who worked with him. In addition, there are numerous clips where we see Nureyev performing.
PS # 2. Nureyev: Dance to Freedom is a documentary film which premiered on British television (BBC) in 2015. Run time: ca 90 minutes.
This film focuses on events in 1961: shortly before, during, and shortly after the day when he defected to the West.
There are interviews with people who knew him and who worked with him. In addition, some scenes have been re-created by modern actors.
PS # 3. The following item is available online:
Peter Bradshaw,
“The White Crow review – Ralph Fiennes brings poise to ballet biopic,”
The Guardian,
20 March 2019
Peter Bradshaw offers 3 of 5 stars which corresponds to a rating of 60 percent.
*****
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