And Then We Danced **** (2019, Levan Gelbakhiani, Bachi Valishvili, Ana Javakishvili, Giorgi Tsereteli) – Movie Review

Levan Gelbakhiani stars as Merab, a talented young dancer at the National Georgian Ensemble, whose world is rocked when the alluring Irakli (Bachi Valishvili) muscles in on the scene, in writer-director Levan Akin’s thoroughly enjoyable and moving romantic dance drama And Then We Danced (2019).

Irakli becomes both Merab’s feared rival and object of desire, greatly upsetting Merab’s loyal dance partner Mary (Ana Javakishvili) and his unreliable brother David (Giorgi Tsereteli). Merab takes his courage in both his hands and gives himself over to his first love, a giant leap for him.

How Levan Gelbakhiani dances! And he can act too. And he is appealing as the film’s troubled hero. Life’s going to deal Merab some bad blows as a gay man in a prejudiced, fickle world, but there is every hint in everything that Levan Gelbakhiani does that the kid is going to be okay.

There are some extremely good, highly impactful scenes in this exceptional movie, with a strong emotional pull, avoiding cliché or stale déjà vu, and there are lots of interesting characters, unusual situations, and unfamiliar backgrounds. It’s only a movie of course, but it feels like real life, or a two-hour snapshot out of one man’s life. Its heart is on its sleeve, and it has a warm, strongly beating heart.

A Sweden, Georgia, France co-production, filmed in Tbilisi, Georgia, in the Georgian language, And Then We Danced was Sweden’s official submission to the International Feature Film category of the 92nd Academy Awards. It screened on 8 October 2019 at the BFI London Film Festival.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Movie Review

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