When I got into films, I spent hours reading through different lists of “best of all time” movies, reading various discussion forums where people would talk about classics, and, surprisingly, this movie wasn’t mentioned much. I think the first time I remember hearing about The Red Shoes was regarding La La Land (2016) and how certain scenes took inspiration from this movie. And it’s one of those effects when you notice something, and suddenly, it seems to appear everywhere you look. This movie was referenced by more lists and people. So I bought a stunning, steel book BluRay and one morning decided to watch it. I didn’t expect what followed.
I have always been vocal about not having a genre I would hate. But, as with every rule, there is a minor exception, and for me, that is historical, costume drama movies. I can’t say I hate them, but if there were a genre I tend to struggle with the most as far as liking the films and appreciating them, that would be “it”. And although The Red Shoes is technically not that (it’s a movie about a ballet ensemble set around the time of this movie’s release), I would count it in that category simply because the ballet element makes it seem like it. Therefore, I was slightly afraid of the outcome and how I, yet again, won’t be able to relate to these characters and their problems because most of those movies are about “they love each other, but they can’t get married” or “our families hate each other, but we love each other”… You know the drill, something we’ve managed to solve in our modern times. Boy, was I wrong.
Before I start gushing about how beautiful and well-crafted this movie is, I must gush about how well the theme and the story aged. This film is based on a fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen, which is something I didn’t know until I finished the film. Yeah, for some reason, this fairytale didn’t travel “worldwide” as some of his other ones, as I have never heard of it. But upon learning that fact, I was less shocked about “ageing well”, as most of his fairytales do. Yes, they are darker than your average one, but the moral lessons behind them are mostly as relevant today as they were in his time. And with The Red Shoes, the idea of compromising on your talent, “only” being the second best, how far are you willing to go, and what are you willing to sacrifice to be the best… Those are themes well-known to most of us to an extent. I was so immersed in this movie that even the ending shocked me (although, thinking about it, it was so obvious how it had to end that way) because I just wasn’t expecting it, although I should have. That’s one of the marks of a brilliant movie when something happens, and you don’t expect it, only for you to think to yourself moments later: “Wait, don’t be a dumb ass; the entire movie was leading to this moment!”
I try to limit speaking in superlatives, but this movie must be one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. From how every scene is staged and framed to the camera work, everything works and looks stunning. We start this movie following this ballet group, and when Moira Shearer joins, they start to practice The Red Shoes ballet. We see everything from the planning to the practice, and it’s only halfway through this movie we see the performance itself. And those 15/20 minutes are just cinema in its purest form. We see her perspective of living in the fairytale; we can see the audience’s perspective, and it all looks beautiful. On top of that, there are many inventive things, and that’s when you remember this movie was released in 1948! This film is well over 70 years old, and the way these key moments are filmed is simply breathtaking. The camera angles, the soundtrack, how everything compliments each other, and it literally sings on the screen… Simply exceptional.
How do you top that scene when you still have almost half of the movie left after? You don’t; that’s why you make us care about every character and their journey. Everyone in this movie felt like a real character, from the side characters to our titular trio. I was invested in their story, journey and how it ultimately pans out. I also would love to point out that Moira Shearer wasn’t a trained actress because she was a classically trained ballet dancer and second in the world at that time! And yet, when you watch her in this movie (her feature debut, nonetheless!), she is great. She sells the emotions, she doesn’t overact and the ballet… The fact she was number two in the entire world speaks for itself. The directing duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were lucky to stumble upon not only an exquisite ballerina but one who could act as well as Moira could. And given we have seen many more attempts to switch professions (whether it’s from sports personality, singing, or modelling) to acting, and they all don’t work out, I would say this is absurdly lucky how much they won with Moira.
I knew I watched something special right after the movie ended, and I have had zero complaints. Let me remind you that I would still classify this movie as “historical drama”, meaning me having zero complaints is near miraculous. But The Red Shoes is that good. When I watched it, there were scenes that somehow reminded me why I fell in love with movies in the first place, from their ability to transport me in time to a specific place and time and be part of this group of people I have never met. This movie made me feel like that and much more; it let me in so much that I forgot about some narrative and was just “happy to be there”. It also reminded me that I don’t hate these historical dramas when done right.
Overall, The Red Shoes is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. The entire movie is excellent, but then the actual Red Shoes ballet starts, and somehow, this movie goes from 10 to 20. If you love historical dramas, you will love this film. If you enjoy beautifully shot and restored Technicolor movies and how the colour pops out on the screen, you will adore this film. To put it simply, if you love movies, you will love this film.
That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!
Until next time,
Luke