Street Dancer - A Battle of Two Extremes
Quick Thoughts: Street Dancer (2020)
An Indian and Pakistani dance troupe battle on the street and in competition whilst seeking a reason to dance.
Whilst Street Dancer is a watchable film and a fun time in the cinema, it is a work of profound extremes. On the one hand, this appears to be an earnest attempt to shine light on a social issue. But, on the other, this is an incredibly silly spectacle bloated with unending dancing. It is clear that this is selling itself as pure spectacle filled with novel concept dances, but somehow this manages to slip - or rather jam - a semi-coherent social commentary into the proceedings of things. It is then hard to know where to begin with Street Dancer (or rather, Street Dancer 3D - I only saw this in 2D though). The most difficult element of the film that I could never overcome is the intense and inherent conflict between dance troupes. Why is everyone so rude and angry? Why are dance battles being approached like war? It is nothing short of absurd to witness the shoving, shouting, food fighting, nipple twisting all escalate into dance routines. Of course, this melodrama is used to set the foundation of the film's social commentary; it is another allegory about the divide between India and Pakistan with an Indian dance team doing battle with a Pakistani dance troupe - all whilst a British group called the Royals stir things up in the background and a Canadian dancer repeatedly and violently humps the floor (which is truly hilarious). In the end, social divides are overcome and the colonisers defeated, but this is not where the film find its strength. The India-Pakistan commentary feels very familiar (I have no intent to get into its idiosyncrasies), but Street Dancer introduces into this a discussion on immigration and class divides in the diaspora. Such is all, of course, summed up with great lines such as 'You dance for yourself... we dance for others...' but, the sentiment is there.
Beyond this, Street Dancer is conventionally wacky and absurd, but enjoyable for that fact. Its weakest elements are characterisation and the fact that none of the drama set up between lovers and enemies is properly explored and resolved. And on top of this, Street Dancer's commentary isn't pristine, its representation of London is highly questionable, and the acting - especially in the minor roles - can be pretty bad. But, in the end, the tone and some of the dancing makes this worthwhile if you can catch this in a good mood.
An Indian and Pakistani dance troupe battle on the street and in competition whilst seeking a reason to dance.
Whilst Street Dancer is a watchable film and a fun time in the cinema, it is a work of profound extremes. On the one hand, this appears to be an earnest attempt to shine light on a social issue. But, on the other, this is an incredibly silly spectacle bloated with unending dancing. It is clear that this is selling itself as pure spectacle filled with novel concept dances, but somehow this manages to slip - or rather jam - a semi-coherent social commentary into the proceedings of things. It is then hard to know where to begin with Street Dancer (or rather, Street Dancer 3D - I only saw this in 2D though). The most difficult element of the film that I could never overcome is the intense and inherent conflict between dance troupes. Why is everyone so rude and angry? Why are dance battles being approached like war? It is nothing short of absurd to witness the shoving, shouting, food fighting, nipple twisting all escalate into dance routines. Of course, this melodrama is used to set the foundation of the film's social commentary; it is another allegory about the divide between India and Pakistan with an Indian dance team doing battle with a Pakistani dance troupe - all whilst a British group called the Royals stir things up in the background and a Canadian dancer repeatedly and violently humps the floor (which is truly hilarious). In the end, social divides are overcome and the colonisers defeated, but this is not where the film find its strength. The India-Pakistan commentary feels very familiar (I have no intent to get into its idiosyncrasies), but Street Dancer introduces into this a discussion on immigration and class divides in the diaspora. Such is all, of course, summed up with great lines such as 'You dance for yourself... we dance for others...' but, the sentiment is there.
Beyond this, Street Dancer is conventionally wacky and absurd, but enjoyable for that fact. Its weakest elements are characterisation and the fact that none of the drama set up between lovers and enemies is properly explored and resolved. And on top of this, Street Dancer's commentary isn't pristine, its representation of London is highly questionable, and the acting - especially in the minor roles - can be pretty bad. But, in the end, the tone and some of the dancing makes this worthwhile if you can catch this in a good mood.
