Returns at the box office. Not so “Pina,’’ filmmaker Wim Wenders’ tribute to German dance legend Pina Bausch.
For nearly 10 years, Wenders, a founder of the German new wave (“Wings of Desire”), had talked with Bausch about making this film.
But in a strange twist of fate, Bausch died in 2009, at age 68, just days before production was to begin. At first, Wenders was inclined to cancel the film, but — fortunately — he decided to go ahead.
If ever a movie were meant for 3-D, it’s “Pina,’’ which captures the thrill of sensual, lithe bodies leaping and diving off the screen into viewers’ arms and laps. Some numbers take place onstage, but the 3-D is best when the dancers, in fabulous evening wear, move into the great outdoors of the German city Wuppertal.
The film lacks any biographical data, although Bausch is seen in archival footage, and her principal dancers pay her tribute in voice-over and as talking heads. But it’s the dancing that makes “Pina’’ a visual delight. It should appeal to dance mavens, and to folks who have no idea what a pas de deux is.