One Flat Thing, Reproduced (2006)

Directed by: Thierry de Mey | 26 minutes | short film | Starring: Yoko Ando, ​​Cyril Baldy, Francesca Caroti, Dana Caspersen, Amancia Gonzalez, Sang Jijla, David Kern, Marthe Krummenacher, Prue Lang, Ioannis Mandafounis, Jone San Martin, Fabrice Mazliah, Roberta Mosca, Georg Reisohl, Christopher Roman, Elizabeth Waterhouse , Andre Zabata

‘One Flat Thing’ is a revolutionary choreography by William Forsythe (1949, New York). The Belgian director/composer Thierry De Mey (1956) recorded this play on HD images and that became ‘One Flat Thing, Reproduced’. The pressure of translating a play into a film is very high. Partly because of this, this can be called a daring project, but De Mey has certainly succeeded in all respects and puts in a fantastic performance here. Everyone knows those adventure films in which the protagonist moves through a narrow corridor or tube on all fours, looking for an exit, on the run from criminals or something like that. In the first scene of this short dance film we see a man and a woman crawling towards the camera in a similar way. Their movements are fluid and animalistic. The environment isn’t quite clear, but when the duo straightens up, we see them standing between a few tables.

It’s actually a shame to give away the next scene in this review because then the surprise effect is gone. But it’s very original and if you’re not already intrigued, you won’t be able to take your eyes off the screen from that point on. The set is formed by twenty identical and symmetrically arranged tables in four rows of five, on which the dancers of The Forsythe Company move in an extremely elastic way. The sparks fly off. The extraordinarily talented dancers make movements that you would not think possible. The colorful yet simple sportswear of each member of the group underlines the individuality, but nothing is more important than the interplay. Although space has also been created for solos, the duets and other combinations are of vital importance. Thierry de Mey uses various separate camera angles, the dancers are filmed from above, among other things, but the most beautiful are the scenes in which the interaction between two or three dancers can be seen. Unfortunately, after quite a while in the film, boredom does set in a bit: although no movement seems to be the same, the viewer has the feeling that they have understood the principle by now. ‘One Flat Thing Reproduced’ is a must-see for dance film fans, but even if you fall outside this target group and you dare to open yourself to an innovative art form, it is recommended.