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The White Crow

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The White Crow

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Summary

Biographical drama starring Oleg Ivenko and Ralph Fiennes. Prodigious Soviet dancer Rudolf Nureyev is in Paris with the Kirov Ballet at the height of the Cold War. As he struggles with his relationship to the USSR, and considers making a dangerous defection, he reflects on his poverty-stricken childhood and his education under master dancer Alexander Pushkin.

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IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Karen Krizanovich

He dances, he looks great in tights, he's flamboyant and he's Russian: how could it be anyone but Rudolf Nureyev? The White Crow (not the swan, note) is a sumptuous biopic about Nureyev, the volatile ballet star born in poverty who changed the very nature of dance to become a cultural icon. Ralph Fiennes's third feature as director also acts as a film debut for Ukrainian dancer Oleg Ivenko, who may not have the charismatic presence of Nureyev, but does have the requisite athleticism. Flashbacks to Nureyev's peasant roots flit between the serial seductions and liaisons, political arguments and useful acquaintances that lead to his ground-breaking defection from the Soviet Union in 1961. Even if ballet is not to your taste, Fiennes's eye for period detail and David Hare's pacey script forge a sprung platform from which Ivenko leaps almost as magnificently as the diva-like world-shaker himself. Fiennes also makes a notable appearance (speaking in Russian) as Nureyev's dance coach, Pushkin.

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6.6/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameRudolf NureyevOleg IvenkoAlexander PushkinRalph FiennesClara SaintAdèle ExarchopoulosYuri SolovievSergei PoluninXenia PushkinaChulpan KhamatovaAlexinskyOlivier RabourdinTeja KremkeLouis HofmannPierre LacotteRaphaël PersonnazMichael JonesZach Avery

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Crew

rolenameDirectorRalph Fiennes

Details

Theatrical distributor

Studio Canal

Released on

2019-03-22

Languages

English | Russian | French | Spanish

Guidance

Swearing, nudity

Available on

DVD and Blu-ray

Formats

Colour

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