And Then We Danced, aka Call Me By Your Georgian Name, is a solid tale of first gay love told amid the intriguing backdrop of the Eastern Bloc country’s traditional dance scene.
The attraction of so-so legacy dancer Merab (Levan Gelbakhiani) to talented newcomer Irakli (Bachi Valishvili) is evident and believable early on and plays out in consistently honest terms under the guidance of writer/director Levan Akin.
The copious risks that the young men take by exploring their feelings for one another in the country’s conservative, modern-day capital of Tbilisi escalate the immediacy of their romance, though such stories have been told numerous times to similarly successful degrees, complete with compelling heterosexual side stories.
What sets And Then We Danced apart, however, is its passionate documentation of Georgian dance and the next generation’s struggles against close-minded gatekeepers who are determining the art form’s future.
Add to these scenes well-developed looks at Merab’s family life and the multigenerational hardships that pursuing dance as a career incurs, and the film becomes more of a poignant exploration of dedicating one’s life to art, with a nicely charted love affair on the side, than merely the latter.
Available starting April 10 via grailmoviehouse.com
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