Robert Altman, USA, 2003, 112 min.

As a horrible film-maker and writer I can appreciate the creative process. That is what The Company shows. No frills. Just a year in the life of a ballet company getting ready to put on a big production. Yes, there are characters and stories, but they are all part of the bigger picture. A picture of how a group of artists live and work together in order to make something special.

The Company is Altman’s 35th(?) feature film, so he has considerable experience doing just what he presents on screen. It’s a surprise that this project didn’t originate from Altman himself. It actually originated from it’s star and writer Neve Campbell, who brings her considerable dancing talents to the table. Campbell, who trained as a dancer before becoming an actress, fits perfectly in the role and manages to be engaging and still not overshadow the rest of what is going on in the film.

It is not a story of her character, Ry. Even though we see her manage to replace a headlining dancer, perform a solo dance routine in a storm, fall under the wing of the eccentric producer Malcolm McDowell, and fall in love and start a relationship with James Franco, she is still not the main character. No one is. Those are just some of the many stories that start and end and loop around in the course of a real-life production. We see parts of some, hints of others, some complete stories and some that have no closure.

It’s just like life, where we can be part of something and privy to many of the moving parts but could never possibly see everything. In The Company, the creative process and the feeling created are a representation of the whole, and through it we understand the depth and truth contained within. It’s a remarkable film that is perfect for Altman’s style.

A large portion of this film is given over to the actual performances, done by the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. Here we can see the only part of the production that audience usually gets to see. But this time it is given much more weight because we see the blood, sweat and tears that happened behind the scenes to lead up to these moments. These moments that would never had existed if dozens of creative people didn’t get together and work hard for months. It’s a thought that can be applied to any piece of collaborative art, and hopefully that thought will give you a new found appreciation of what happens in order to make art possible.

Claire Denis, France, 1999, 93 min.

A group of young soldiers train in the desert of Africa. They are French Legionnaires, and in director Claire Denis’s hands, their training becomes a poem. The men go through their days exercising, doing chores and going into the African city at night. It feels so real that it is hard to imagine that the director was never a French Legionnaire herself.

The soldier’s lives, although physically demanding, are shown in such a peacful and gentle way that you can understand why their sargeant, the narrater, looks back upon this time as his happiest. Galoup, played to perfection by Denis Levant, is quiet and brooding. He is good at what he does, but is starting to age and the lack of recognition from his commander, although not exactly a problem for him, is something that weighs on his mind.

Through his narration we learn that his time in the Legionnaires will come to an end, and when a new recruit arrives, we see his hatred grow and know that this soldier will be his undoing. Why does he hate Sentain? He’s young and lanky, and looks weak compared to the other muscular solders. But everyone takes a liking to him, and after an act of heroism (shown off-screen so as not to break the gentle mood of the film), Galoup’s commander takes a shine to him as well.

Galoup sees Sentain easily interacting with the other soldiers, and how Sentain has an equally easy time outside the camp in the city, in the dance clubs and with women. Galoup doesn’t have an easy time socializing, and this jelousy grows over time. When an altercation between the two finally happen, Galoup reacts in his usual calm and thoughtful way. But what he does is so wrong that it causes him to lose his place in the Legionnaires.

After leaving, we know he will be a fish out of water. The military lifestyle was a perfect fit for his personality. In a hotel, he still makes his bed in the efficient and tidy military manner of a French Legionnaire.

In the film’s final scene at a dance club Galoup finally allows himself a moment of real expression. Free from the prisons that he has made for himself. It is a moment that is jarring against the lyricism of the rest of the film, but perfectly suited as a catharsis for both Galoup and the audience.