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BRIOGEI May-June I 20U
Block Swan is the story of a ballerina (Natalie Portman) who loses her mind while fighting to win the lead role in the classic ballet Swan Lake.
Curse of the Black Swan
The dark side of ballet
There's been a lot of excitement lately about one of the Academy Award-winning films. In today's world of hit films about gangsters, terrorists, and child abuse, this winner was about something completely different -ballet!
A modern Swan Lake
The psychological thriller Black Swan won an Oscar for best actress in a leading role. Natalie Portman earned the honors1 not only for her acting, but because she trained for a year to learn the basic moves necessary in ballet.
Black Swan is the story of a young ballet dancer who struggles to master two antagonistic2 characters and loses her mind due to3 it. The movie is based on the classic Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake.
Evil, evil, evil
Swan Lake starts off with the evil sorcerer4, Von Rothbart. (In the film Black Swan his costume alone is enough to send you screaming into the night.) He casts an evil spell5 on the beautiful princesses in the neighborhood, and they become swans by day and turn back into princesses at night.
Just about to become 21, the handsome Prince Siegfried is getting ready for his big birthday bash6. His mom says, "Son, you're not a boy anymore. Go out and find a wife." And as his birthday present, she gives him a huge macho crossbow7. He runs out to the woods to test his present and of course he sees the swans. His eye catches one in particular, with a golden crown on her head. Coincidentally8, it just happens to be sunset, and this swan turns into the most beautiful chick9 young Siegfried has ever seen. Her name is Odette (the White Swan).
They immediately fall deeply in love, promising to always be true to each other. There's just this little bird/princess problem that Odette has to deal with.
At Siegfried's big birthday bash, the evil Von Rothbart shows up with Odette, except it's not really Odette but his own daughter, Odile (the Black Swan), cleverly disguised10 to look
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Some lovers of ballet aren't very enthusiastic to see their beloved art portrayed so violently
just like the real princess. Siegfried can't tell the difference, and swears11 his love to her.
Unfortunately, the real Odette is watching and runs away, devastated. Siegfried fights Von Rothbart and Odette jumps into the lake to drown herself.
The same ballerina sometimes dances the role of both White and Black Swans. In the movie, trying to be both characters and dealing with the stress drives Natalie Portman crazy. It gives the filmmakers a chance to show mental delusions12, paranoia, a pathological relationship with a mother, and passionate love scenes in this Stephen King type of ballet story.
Is ballet really like that?
Some lovers of ballet aren't very enthusiastic to see their beloved art portrayed so violendy. Other fans are just happy that Black Swan is putting ballet into the popular spotlight. For example, Veronika Iblova, a former prima ballerina and today's director of the VIP International School of Ballet in Prague, said: "It was not a good recommendation for the ballet. They just used the ballet world to make a story. It was creepy13. And violent." However, she admitted, her 17-year-old twin sons loved the movie.
Jana Malisova, who works in the production department at the National Theatre in Prague, said that it's true that dancers can easily get the broken toenails14 and sore15, blistered16 feet shown in Black Swan. She also admitted that the competition between dancers can be fierce17 sometimes, but Zuzana Simakova, who is dancing the lead role in the National Theatre Ballet's current production of Cinderella, said that with only one or two exceptions all the dancers in the company are very friendly. Mary Matz (USA)
You can find out more information about "Black Swan" and ballet in the online magazine, Opus Osm (www.opusosm.com).
The Israeli beauty
The 30-year-old, Israel-born Natalie Portman is a well-known actress, who appeared in the films Leon (a thriller), Star Wars (a sci-fi) and Vfor Vendetta (a futuristic tale about an authoritarian regime in Britain). She often portrays smart18 and mature19 characters, and is considered to be a role model20 for many young girls. During the royal premiere of Star Wars: Episode I (1999) she met Prince Charles. He asked her whether she had also been in the original Star Wars: Episode IV (1977), which had been released four years before her birth! Natalie bears a striking resemblance21 to Keira Knightley, another famous actress. When the two actresses wore make-up for their roles in Star Wars, not even their mothers could tell them apart22. Natalie is definitely a dedicated23 actress - she shaved her head bald24 for filming Vfor Vendetta. "Some people will think I'm a neo-Nazi or that I have a cancer or I'm a lesbian,"she said about going bald. "After all the crazy hairstyles I had to endure25 for the films, it's quite liberating to have no hair - especially in this heat."
MAY FILM TIPS
Banksy: Exit Through the Gift Shop
(UK /US, 2010)
Directed by the British graffiti legend Banksy, this is as close a view of the world of street art as yet to be filmed. More than just a dry discussion about art, the documentary is a thrilling and funny adventure story and satire on the art world. It tells about how an eccentric amateur French filmmaker decides to document the world of street art and befriend Banksy, and slowly turns into a street artist himself. It includes footage of some famous
nd their work. The film was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Documentary category.
Sound of Noise
(Sweden / France, 2010)
V- ft •
Amadeus, a policeman, has always felt like an outsider because unlike other members of his family he has no talent for music. In fact, he hates music. But now he is on a mission - to catch a group of drummers who terrorise the city by illegally performing music on various objects in the streets. Will he succeed? Get your ears ready for this comedy-crime film.
(vocabulary )
1 earned the honors [diidz] - získala ocenení
2 antagonistic [ícnticgo'nistik] -protikladný
3 due to [dju:] - kvuli
4 sorcerer [*so:s(d)ro] - čarodej
5 to cast a spell - začarovat
6 bash [bsf] - párty, oslava
7 crossbow ['krDsbau] - kuše
8 coincidentally [k3uinsi'dent(o)]i] -shodou okolností
9 chick [tfik] - kočka (pěkná žena)
10 to disguise [dis'gaiz] - přestrojit se
11 to swear [svve:] - přísahat
12 delusion [di'lui^ajn] - přelud, halucinace
13 creepy ['krhpi] - strašidelný M toenails - nehty na nohou '5 sore [sd:] - obolavělý
16 blistered f'blistad] - plný puchýřů
17 fierce [fras] - zuřivý
THE ISRAELI BEAUTY
18 smart [sma:t] - bystrý
19 mature [nra'tjua] - vyspělý
20 role model - vzor
21 bears a striking resemblance
[be:z 'straikuj ri'zEmbl(o)ns] -se nápadně podobá
22 tell them apart - rozlišit je od sebe
23 dedicated ['dedikeitid] - oddaný, horlivý
24 bald [boild] - dohola
25 to endure [indjuo, en-] - vydržet