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Movies / On DVD / Nijinsky: The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky
Nijinsky: The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky

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Nijinsky: The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky (2002)

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Reviews Counted:30

Fresh:18

Rotten:12

Average Rating:6/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 90 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Theatrical Release:May 29, 2002 Limited

Synopsis: In this biographical interpretation of the life of Russian dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, one of the most influential performers of the early 20th Century, Australian director Paul Cox... In this biographical interpretation of the life of Russian dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, one of the most influential performers of the early 20th Century, Australian director Paul Cox enlists the dramatic voice narration of Shakespearean actor Sir Derek Jacobi to read Nijinsky's diary. The segments included here were written around 1920 when Nijinsky had left the Russian Ballet and relocated to St. Moritz, Switzerland with his wife and young daughter because of his fading mental health. As the words of Nijinsky's diary are read, his madness and his passion for dance share equal time. "I am a dancer... I love Russia... I love the Ballet Russe... I know how to suffocate... I feel a piercing stare..." Images of nature accompany the reading--flowing water, snowy forests, flowers, herons, sheep, silhouettes, statues--along with shots of costumed dancers sneaking through the woods or performing abstract pieces in nature. There are two different clowns in the film, symbolic of Nijinsky's other selves. In addition, characters from Nijinsky's dances, such as Petrouchka, the Faun, Blue God, and Golden Slave, are represented by dancers, though there is no footage of Nijinsky dancing in the film. Nijinsky was born in 1889 in Kiev, Poland. He was raised in St. Petersburg, Russia. And he died April 8, 1950 in an asylum where he was confined for the last 30 years of his life. [More]

Director: Paul Cox

Director: Paul Cox
Studio: Winstar

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Release:

Nov 19, 2002

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Reviews for Nijinsky: The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
06/25/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
05/13/05
Apollo Guide
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
12/31/03
Moira MacDonald
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
12/06/03
Film Journal International

A gift to anyone who loves both dance and cinema

Full Review Source: Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) | comment Comment
02/03/03
Josef Braun
Josef Braun
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

.. this unorthodox documentary works for those who have a sensitivity to the artist and to his struggles against such a cold and indifferent world.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
12/24/02
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Certainly no biopic, Nijinsky is short on facts, but long on expression.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
11/22/02
Susan Walker
Susan Walker
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There is a beautiful, aching sadness to it all. Paul Cox needed to show it. It is up to you to decide if you need to see it.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
11/22/02
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

Just the labour involved in creating the layered richness of the imagery in this chiaroscuro of madness and light is astonishing.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
11/22/02
Ray Conlogue
Ray Conlogue
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though Nijinsky's words grow increasingly disturbed, the film maintains a beguiling serenity and poise that make it accessible for a non-narrative feature.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
11/19/02
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson
eye WEEKLY
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
08/14/02
Boston Phoenix

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
08/14/02
Reel.com

Those who are only mildly curious, I fear, will be put to sleep or bewildered by the artsy and often pointless visuals.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
08/02/02
Michael O'Sullivan
Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Has its share of arresting images.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
08/02/02
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Cox is far more concerned with aggrandizing madness, not the man, and the results might drive you crazy.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
07/26/02
Rachel Howard
Rachel Howard
San Francisco Examiner

Fans of Nijinsky will savor every minute of Cox's work.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
07/26/02
Jonathan Curiel
Jonathan Curiel
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Jacobi, the most fluent of actors, is given relatively dry material from Nijinsky's writings to perform, and the visuals, even erotically frank ones, become dullingly repetitive.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
07/26/02
Shawn Levy
Shawn Levy
Oregonian

It is not a mass-market entertainment but an uncompromising attempt by one artist to think about another.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
07/26/02
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Cox offers plenty of glimpses at existing photos, but there are no movies of Nijinsky, so instead the director treats us to an aimless hodgepodge.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
07/25/02
Sid Smith
Sid Smith
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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