Customer Reviews

Jiri Kylian's Car Men

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this is a somewhat strange release. apparently kylian collaborated with a filmmaker to make "car men", a 30-minute B&W film done in a very "silent era/slapstick" sort of way. there's very little dancing involved, but kylian's touch is definitely discernible. the slapstick comedy is amusing in the way that kylian's comedy often is, with a lot of exaggerated belly laughs, double takes, and questioning looks, but it doesn't add up to much. the connection to carmen the opera is tenuous, and the film is more focused on the central female character's premonition (or fear?) of being hit by a car. her dreams/nightmares are the most interesting sequences and feature some striking images. all in all a curiosity, but worth seeing for fans of kylian.

"silent cries" (from 1986) is a work for female soloist set to debussy's famous "prelude to the afternoon of a faun". the dancer dances behind a pane of glass and kylian's choreography evokes classic mime, perhaps a little too closely. it's also fascinating to see how he references nijinsky's version. definitely worth seeing for fans, but probably won't convert anyone.

the final piece, "the drowned cathedral" for two male-female couples, has already been released on the video "four by kylian". it's a fine, serious piece with some remarkable, memorable choreography, although it's more overtly sexual than many of his other works.

the two dance works were well selected and complement "car men" extremely well. all in all this is definitely worth watching for fans (although it's short at 61 minutes), although newcomers would be much better off watching a more traditional collection, such as the black and white ballets DVD (although unfortunately that one's currently out of print in the US).