Customer Reviews

Cirque du Soleil - Fire Within (TV Series)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a huge Cirque Du Soleil fan, I was thrilled to see the Bravo documentary series on DVD since I had missed it when it aired. I watched the entire series in a matter of two days--I was hooked immediately as it is such a long and cut-throat, yet fascinating process.

My negative criticism is that I feel like the show could have been developed so much more. We only meet a fraction of the people involved in Varekai; I would love to have spent some time getting to know the clowns (in my opinion, the magician and his assistant are one of the best parts of Varekai and I was hoping to see them in this series), gotten to watch the younger ones and how they were handled through the process. They also neglected to finish some story lines. I don't want to ruin a plot line for you so I'll be vague (though it still might give it away), but no problem finding another singer after all of the frustration in the first half of the series?

Eventhough I feel like so much stuff was left out that could have been amazing to watch, I still think this one-of-a-kind glimpse into the process is phenominal, and I do recommend the purchase for anyone interested in Cirque and their behind-the-scenes struggles and processes.

This documentary series is definitely something all Cirque fans HAVE to see, especially those who like Varekai. Mobster describes the miniseries well. With a look behind how Varekai was made, from the auditions before they even had a name for the show, until the magical premiere, It'll be a big Cirque fan pleaser. This was the first time I'd seen it (I didn't catch it on TV), and I loved it. With all the ups, downs, and real life drama (and trust me, this isn't the stereotypical "reality TV show". This really is "real life."), I really got into it. It brought out many emotions from excitement to sadness, laughter to being on the brink of tears. It was just a wonderful show. It really gives you a larger respect for what the performers are doing on stage. It lets you see a "human side to Cirque" as one of the Atherton twins said. And, along with the show, you also get an extra episode--The Reunion. A reunion of all the original performers. I loved every bit of these DVD's. I definitely recommend it if you're a fan of Cirque. :)

Fire Within gives an intimate and revealing look at the making of a Cirque du Soleil show. From the chaotic and fragile beginnings (auditions), through creation-and recreation-to triumphant debut and tour, Fire Within chronicles the birth of Varekai. This 13-episode miniseries is full of human drama: the blossoming of stars and the flame-out of would-be stars. Fire Within shows that what ends up as a dazzling display of creative and acrobatic genius has its share of less than sparkling moments-even dark times in which the future of both the show and some of its performers teeter on the brink of disaster.

The DVD also includes extras (no surprise), including a reunion of the main players in Fire Within and a preview of a new DVD, Solstrom.

This series won a 2003 Emmy for Outstanding Nonfiction Program. But I rated it only 4 stars because I felt that ultimately, the drama was a bit lacking. Still, a great look back stage. I gained an even greater appreciation for what I see on stage.

I loved Fire Within when it was on TV. I am a huge fan of Cirque and loved that we were able to look into what goes into making a show. I am usually more interested in back story after I've seen the show, but this was such a great introduction to Varekai that I knew that show was going to be terrific. While some people complain that there is a lack of character development for a large part of the cast, I feel that these people weren't trying to play characters, they were themselves through and through and to much admiration of the creators they didn't force anything that wasn't going to naturally happen. The reunion and updates of what the cast is doing now is quite surprising and a very good addition to the show.

On a recent flight, I watched the Cirque-centric film All Together Now, a 'making of' featurette depicting how the Cirque/Beatles collaboration 'Love' came into being. I really loved that film. It called to my mind this earlier behind the scenes-style production, which detailed the incubation of Cirque du Soleil - Varekai. What I found most interesting about 'Fire Within': how it reveals this supposedly most innovative and unique of organizations as no different than any other organization, with the boring meetings, palace intrigue, factional fighting, fear of authority, and often ham-fisted handling of personnel to show for it.

Despite all the problems that crop up (we're seeing the proverbial sausage get made here), there's triumph at the end. Mostly it's due to the often super-human efforts of the performers and to director Dominic Champagne's will to painstakingly keep this often-careening vehicle on the road. Of questionable help: founder and spiritual guide (and awesome entrepreneur), Guy Laliberté, whose imperial reign and 'bungee boss' presence strikes near-catatonic dread into everyone whenever the mere rumor of his next visit enters the storyline. [The palpable fear expressed by everyone about Guy's next visit reminded me of Don Logan's impending arrival in Sexy Beast.]

This being Reality TV, not all the story lines are destined for a happy ending. British gymnasts Gareth Hopkins and Ashley Beaver get soullessly dumped despite capturing viewers hearts throughout the series' dominant arc. And Romanian singer Adrian Berinde - another favorite thanks to the brilliantly scripted narrative of the show - is the victim of middling middle management and squishy directives. To this viewer's mind, no one can tell Mr. Berinde what they want. They can only tell him they don't want what he's bringing...this despite his prodigious talent and his having been specially chosen by Cirque majordomos from what was literally a worldwide search. Berinde's last words are something to the effect of "for some people Cirque is a dream; for others, it's a prison." Those words are what resonate eight years after viewing.

This takes you inside the minds and hearts of people from all over the world. It shows you what the people of Cirque du Soleil must endure to make the show and the rigors involved in perfecting the show. Who has what it takes? Who can't take the pressure of the show?

This is not a reality show but rather a documentary that you can follow the characters' lives. You feel sorrow for them when they are at their worst. You feel joy when they succeed. You are involved with the show.

I have seen 6 different live shows and I was fascinated by the acrobatics and raw talent these people possess. If you have ever been intrigued by the live show, you will throughly enjoy this DVD set. You will want more when you are finished with it.

Our family very much enjoyed this entire series. It makes Cirque du Soliel really come to life. A program worth watching!

Many of the comments already made regarding certain dramatic elements not making sense are right on point, particularly the lead singer for the show. I won't give away an details but you're left scratching your head with elements that unfold that just don't make sense. I also believe that in an effort to play up the drama, they actually led me to have less respect for them by giving me the impression they were unprepared for the premiere of the show. Whether they were as unprepared as it was made out I don't know. Also, the Trump-style Guy Laliberté, who they made out as the only decision maker, the end all be all of the Cirque really just turned me off. I've had too many bosses like that(I'm actually not a kid just didn't want to create an amazon account), and I know organizations don't last long with that tyrannical style of management. But Cirque seems to be doing fine, so maybe that's just me. But man did the narrator let you know every time Guy Laliberté was in the room and everybody collectively crapped their pants and bit their nails....it came off as way over-dramatic. All that being said, if you're a fan of Cirque you will undoubtedly enjoy this series taking a look into the process of creating a Cirque show.

I can imagine much hand-wringing on the part of Cirque faithful who read this. I love seeing Cirque perform -- have seen 2 different live shows and 2-3 others on DVD myself -- and think they're superb. However it has to be said that while very interesting and entertaining at times, this series is also frustratingly inconsistent in many ways, and in the end one cannot help but wonder how tough the competition was the year it won its Emmy, with these problems.

But first, yes, it is interesting and entertaining and worthwhile, most especially for Cirque fans (who may like about anything involving the troupe) but also for others who don't know much about the whole Cirque phenomenon. The reality show-type format may not get much more interesting than this, in fact, except for lurid, tasteless fare in other genres. And as a humanizing, behind the scenes look at some of whatt (and who) goes into a Cirque show, it's a good testament to the Cirque spirit.

Unfortunately there are some consistent problems that make the series continue to fall short of its promise. I would say the most damaging is simple inconsistency from point to point or show to show -- sometimes even within the same show -- in terms of what's going on as the people in focus try to get Varekai in shape for its opening. One of the simplest, most illustrative examples is in episode 8. Hopefuls Garth and Ashley, who have been struggling throughout to make the grade and get their act into the show, are under pressure at a big dress rehearsal in front of the downright Napoleonesque Cirque owner (and it's made clear throughout that there is just one guy at the top with all the final say). They perform and the narrator comments that they did well. Nevertheless, after a few intervening scenes, we are abruptly seeing a phone call discussing them and cutting their act due to their struggling, and the narrator suddenly comments that they may never realize their dream. ???

This is not an isolated case: contortionist Olga joins the troupe and the show about 5 episodes in, and is touted as an established star with years of experience who will lead the show. But then an episode or two later, suddenly she is the focus of concern, as she is seen continually dragging in practice and her unhealthy lifestyle is called into question. Much hand-wringing ensues, and the narrator again comes forth with dramatic phrasing boding ill for the future. The issue is then dropped without resolution.

These things continue throughout the series on smaller scales, too -- the pressure on the female trapeze troupe to be more "sexually mature" in their act and their rightfully suspicious reaction to what that may imply, for example, which is also left behind, of the comment at the end of show 5 or 6 that the "dangerous" Russian swing may be brought in, even though you have to try damned hard to ever get a glimpse of it later -- make it hard to understand what is going on and hard to commit to the show or even to believe the narrator. And the narration is definitely overly melodramatic, detracting enotionally from enjoyment of the whole process being observed, even if it does help with simple explanation of many things. It can be so notorious that it brings to mind the situation with Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and the lousy, campy narration the studio forced him to add to the original release, which he blessedly removed in the director's cut.

One other serious difficulty in my view is the omission of attention to the music. Obviously not every performer can be covered without turning the thing into a mammoth documentary. However in the physical acts obviously an attempt has been made at including a variety, even so much so that some members doing a particular act (the other women on the trapeze, the other Icarian acrobats) are basically left out. So why so little focus on the music? One of the great strengths of Cirque du Soleil is consistently high quality, original music, and a lot of lip service and some screen time is dedicated early on to talent scout Michel's search for just the right singer. This is said to be very important, yet very little time is paid to that aspect of things once the singer has (supposedly) been found. Indeed as he himself comments, something is wrong because he only gets to spend half an hour with the show's composer during over 3 months of work on the show. More attention to the musical aspect of things would not have more appropriately represented the spirit of Cirque du Soleil and would have been more consistent with the rest of the show's approach.

These aspects keep the series from living up to its very high promise, but again it will definitely be worthwhile to Cirque fans and probably interesting to many others who are either interested in finding out about Cirque or such performing arts or who would like to see some more interest and quality in a reality show setting.

This TV program is about internal affairs, about a "kitchen" of a world-famous Cirque du Soleil, about hard work and nice bodies from around a globe spectaculars pay for seeing in actions, about a passion and professionalism heavily underlying a hour-and-half performing of which actors' any move targets a perfect-ness although everybody knows that nothing is absolute.