‘Birds of Paradise’ on point as a dreamy dance drama
With elements of “Black Swan,” “Suspiria” and even “Flashdance,” Amazon’s “Birds of Paradise” tells the story of two young American ballet dancers at a prestigious academy in Paris involved in a competition that will decide who gets a contract with the world-renowned Paris Opera Ballet (aka Opera National de Paris). Written and directed by Sarah Adina Smith, adapting the novel “Bright Burning Stars” by A.K. Small, the film focuses on the driven and hormonal male and female dancers involved in the competition.
A former basketball player from Virginia, Kate Sanders (Diana Silvers, “Booksmart”) is the new arrival. Her first mistake is remarking that a missing dancer named Ollie is “the guy who killed himself, right?” That gets her a slap in the face from Marine Durand (Kristine Froseth), aka M. aka Marionette. M. is Ollie’s grieving twin sister and former dance partner. Of course, Kate is assigned to share a room with M. in a small space with a single bed.
Among the other characters are Gia (Eva Boiro), Black, slightly overweight and bulimic; Felipe, a male principal dancer who both Marine and Kate want as a partner and maybe more; and Jamal (Nassim Lyes), a drummer who gets involved with Marine. Hovering over them all on a metaphorical broomstick is Madame Brunelle (Jacqueline Bisset, relishing every moment and speaking fluent French), who is brutally honest in her (usually unpleasant) opinions — and who refers to the young dancers as “rats.” M., whose feet are scarred and swollen, refers to the dancers as “warriors of pain.” Mme. Brunelle dubs Kate “Virginia” because of her birthplace. Kate spends a lot of time talking with her father (voice of Toby Huss of “Copshop”) on the phone. Her mother, a dancer, died.
“Birds of Paradise,” which was shot in Budapest, has a lot of Euro-movie style, beginning with a dancer in a bird beak mask in a dreamlike jungle setting. Birds play a large part in the film’s story and look, and of course, yes, there’s “Swan Lake” and all that. Mme. Brunelle, a former dancer, says ballet is about sex and seduction, and we get a good amount of those two elements in the story, along with drugs. The dancers, for their part, refer to Brunelle as “le diable” aka the devil.
Kate and her father share a story about a heroic bird that saved the world from endless night. Marine is the daughter of the American ambassador to France. Kate cannot afford new ballet shoes. They eventually make a pact to both win the prize.
Cinematographer Shaheen Seth of Smith’s “The Midnight Swim” adds to the film’s dreamlike power. The same can be said of the score by sound artist Ellen Reid (Smith’s “Buster’s Mal Heart”). Director Smith (TV’s “Hanna”) does not scrimp on the “Mean Girls” elements, presumably also found in the book. She has a keen eye and ear and gets very good performances from her cast, especially Silvers and Froseth. As a result, “Birds of Paradise” is an impressive piece of work from a young filmmaker who should be going places. Silvers and Froseth also obviously put a lot of effort into their dancing, and it pays dividends in credibility.
(“Birds of Paradise” contains drug use, sexually suggestive scenes, brief nudity and profanity.)