Each film by Ettore Scola is a special experience and different from all the others, and ‘Le bal‘ made in 1983 is no exception. 28 years before Michel Hazanavicius‘ ‘The Artist‘, Scola made a film devoid of dialogue, but the producers sent it at the Academy Awards in the category of foreign language films. Indeed, the language not spoken in the film is French, but the film is Italian, and that year it won an impressive collection of both the Cesar and David di Donatello awards. The place of the dialogues is taken by the music signed by Vladimir Cosma, and the image belongs to Ricardo Aronovich. ‘Le bal‘ combines the musical genre with the historical documentary taking us through almost half a century of French history, all in steps of dance.
Life is dance and dance is life in this film that takes place exclusively in the space of a Parisian ballroom, where a gallery of female and male characters gathers, brought here by their passion for dance and music, and their desire to avoid loneliness and to socialise. A few archetypes run through the ages – the ageing ladies hunting partners and maybe even marriage, the faded Don Juan forever looking for a romantic adventure, the lonely and spectacled woman who reads the movie magazine of the time, the gangster who destroys parties with violence, the speculator and collaborator with his dubious business and, of course, the bartender getting older along with the ballroom. The music changes according to the era, as do the decorations of the walls, and the live shots become, one after the other, pieces of museum on a wall of memories. I recommend ‘Le bal‘. Lovers of dance and music will enjoy it, history buffs will be interested, and those who appreciate cinema that ignores the rules to create a special reality of its own will appreciate this special film by Ettore Scola.