The Dancer doesn't venture from patterns of traditional biopics far enough to be called inspired, but it delivers a spirited, fully committed portrayal that allows you to observe a quintessential artist from the outside in.

The Dancer is so dreamily shot, with such nakedly committed acting by music artist SoKo, that you can almost forgive its narrative gaps-and the considerable liberties it takes with historical fact.

Like Loïe Fuller's serpentine dance, the film is structured on repetition: spinning and spinning but never actually taking us nowhere.