I just read the critical comment on "Rhythm is it" and simply had the need to say that this guy didn't understand neither the movie's intention nor the message.
Obviously he is a big Stravinsky fan, so maybe this kept his focus on the musical part. The choreographer, on the other hand, was, as he pointed out to the worried teacher, more interested in education than in art. This is not a Stravinsky musical, it's about working with frustrated young people, giving them more self confidence, a feeling for the need of discipline and hard work, a feeling of what "real" fun is about, making them feel comfortable with their body, with themselves, and so with other people.
I'm a primary school teacher for music, and I found so many of my thoughts in this movie. That Norwegian guy is obviously more interested in art than in education, so he watched many touching and honest moments of this film with pure cynicism. "It's all fake!" I don't think so.
"The children didn't change at all". Not true either. You can literally watch the spots on the girl's face disappear through the movie, because she begins to feel better about herself, and so begins to look more healthy on the outside.
Martin, who never liked touching anyone and didn't feel at home inside his body, now wants to become a dancer or an acrobat.
And the black boy was not a cliché in any way. I never had the feeling that anybody told him anything of what he said. It was just his hard way of life that brought him his wisdom and his need for more learning. It's not his fault that he is a contrast to many German children, who don't like to learn and work hard anymore (sad but true, trust me). And I think he is perfectly right when he says that most Germans (Europeans) don't care about their culture. And if he wants to stay in contact to his roots by dancing with a friend, what's so wrong about that?!
All in all it's a great movie with a very important message: Find out what you want and work hard for it. Believe in yourself and never be satisfied with what you already achieved, you can always learn more. Just when you feel good with yourself you can have good relationships with other people. And people who laugh at you while you are learning, are probably not your friends.
Obviously he is a big Stravinsky fan, so maybe this kept his focus on the musical part. The choreographer, on the other hand, was, as he pointed out to the worried teacher, more interested in education than in art. This is not a Stravinsky musical, it's about working with frustrated young people, giving them more self confidence, a feeling for the need of discipline and hard work, a feeling of what "real" fun is about, making them feel comfortable with their body, with themselves, and so with other people.
I'm a primary school teacher for music, and I found so many of my thoughts in this movie. That Norwegian guy is obviously more interested in art than in education, so he watched many touching and honest moments of this film with pure cynicism. "It's all fake!" I don't think so.
"The children didn't change at all". Not true either. You can literally watch the spots on the girl's face disappear through the movie, because she begins to feel better about herself, and so begins to look more healthy on the outside.
Martin, who never liked touching anyone and didn't feel at home inside his body, now wants to become a dancer or an acrobat.
And the black boy was not a cliché in any way. I never had the feeling that anybody told him anything of what he said. It was just his hard way of life that brought him his wisdom and his need for more learning. It's not his fault that he is a contrast to many German children, who don't like to learn and work hard anymore (sad but true, trust me). And I think he is perfectly right when he says that most Germans (Europeans) don't care about their culture. And if he wants to stay in contact to his roots by dancing with a friend, what's so wrong about that?!
All in all it's a great movie with a very important message: Find out what you want and work hard for it. Believe in yourself and never be satisfied with what you already achieved, you can always learn more. Just when you feel good with yourself you can have good relationships with other people. And people who laugh at you while you are learning, are probably not your friends.