Crazy Horse
Director: Frederick Wiseman
Year Released: 2011
Rating: 2.0
A naughty peek inside the infamous Parisian cabaret by taciturn documentarian Wiseman shows the dancers preparing backstage, the crew debating particulars (director Philippe Decouflé wants more time to prepare his new show but investors don't want to close down temporarily) and new ladies auditioning. The major issue I have with Wiseman's films is how many seem uninvolved and arbitrarily constructed: his distanced approach, in this case, illuminates little about the process in which a nude revue is designed and prepared (you see a few buttons on a console pressed and wigs combed but little more) or the girls' relationship with each other or severe backstage mishaps ... and his few 'talky segments' of Decouflé and crew having a staff meeting or singing the praises of their product for the press isn't exactly dynamic filmmaking. The actual musical numbers are vibrant and erotic, but that's to the credit of the club itself ... and less so to Wiseman.
