AND THEN WE DANCED
How love moves…
A modern gay classic that sidesteps clichés.
Forbidden love is a careworn theme in gay cinema, so it’s to director Levan Akin’s credit that he so elegantly turns convention on its head with this heart-stopping drama about two dancers making all the right moves. Set in conservative Tbilisi, Georgia, it sees competitive dancer Merab (Levan Gelbakhiani) juggling dance classes with work and family pressures, all while attempting to do right by his girlfriend.
When handsome new student Irakli (Bachi Valishvili) pitches up, Merab is sent into an emotional tailspin, at once enthralled and irritated by the newcomer, and his inner conflict is beautifully expressed through Gelbakhiani’s Disney-cartoon eyes. As Merab and Irakli circle each other on and off the dance floor, the sexual tension crackles, all lingering glances and furtive touches, and the film takes its time building up to their swan-dive into a full-blown affair.
Although the pacing is casual, the dialogue sparse, Akin’s film moves with
CERTIFICATE 15 DIRECTOR Levan Akin STARRING Levan Gelbakhiani, Bachi Valishvili, Ana Javakishvili, Giorgi Tsereteli SCREENPLAY Levan Akin DISTRIBUTOR Peccadillo Pictures RUNNING TIME 113 mins
a hypnotic grace. The Swedish director excels at capturing the restrictive milieu that so muddles Merab’s desire. Between Georgia’s fierce dedication to tradition and the everyday poverty that sees Merab bunking on one of his grandmother’s sofas, his ne’er-do-well brother on the other, And Then We Danced feels alluringly authentic, not least when we journey into ‘gay’ Tbilisi alongside Merab.
As transportive as Akin’s film is, his biggest coup de grace is a narrative that knows the gay clichés and wrongfoots expectation. Come the stomping climax, Gelbakhiani dances up an emotional storm and, although its leisurely pace and lack of easy answers may irk some, this elegant and unfalteringly heartfelt drama doesn’t put a foot wrong. Josh Winning