About Boléro
by Thomas Fouet
How can I possibly tell you about Boléro without disclosing the streak of political and visual undertakings which, as the film unfolds, make it truly unique? What starts off as a seemingly typical family saga suddenly turns into an experimental choreography, toying - exquisitely - with the (chosen) constraints of its setting, and finishes as a thrilling libertarian utopia. A whole flock follows this Christ-like figure on his journey, becoming the epicentre of a revolution that, we hope, will soon ripple throughout the world.
Interview with Nans Laborde-Jourdàa
"Boléro summons the spirits of my teenage years, spent in the Pyrenees, and the way we become ourselves in places that leave little regard for one’s differences. Fran came into himself elsewhere, and as he returns, he yearns for reconciliation.
I wanted to show François Chaignaud on screen, how powerful a dancer he is. Each and every movement he makes portends a future earthquake. I wanted to convey not only his art, but his vulnerability and subversive impact.
I also wanted to show the landscapes in which I grew up, made of wildlife and concrete; show these dear faces, that of my family and my childhood friends. This film, for me, was one of those pastoral shows, beautiful and naïve, conjured up by villagers from the Basque country or Béarn on a summer evening, that combine theatre, dance and songs. Donning the naïveté of the fairytale, Boléro tells the story of a character that turns into that of a community, where a craggy face, or the stroke of a stranger’s hand, reveals the promise of a dawning revolution."
