West Side Story

If my heart has a space that says "West Side Story," it is already occupied by the 1961 movie. Everything is beautifully filmed in this one, and the choreography is perfect. It was carefully rehearsed and beautifully acted. However, we got the same thing with the sixty-year-old version, and apart from the superb craftsmanship, I cannot see much justification for making this reimagining. (01/05/2022)

Not having seen the original yet – shame on me – I approached Steven Spielberg's film with a clean slate, but at the same time I had certain expectations given the director's name and the load of Oscars the 1961 film won. At first, second, and indeed any other glance, it's a modern adaptation of the Romeo and Juliet love story, where instead of aristocratic families we have street gangs of rival nationalities who are momentarily at odds, with fatal consequences. Spielberg's artful direction, catchy musical and dance numbers and an all-around likeable cast make West Side Story an enjoyable film that's well suited to cinema screens. PS: Rita Moreno, hats off! (12/19/2021)

Since the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Steven Spielberg has been waiting for his dream to come true and make a musical. And we waited with him, continually reassured by his impeccable sense of the fusion of image and music, that when it happened, it would be something. And finally, here’s West Side Story, And, of course, it is something. A firework of colourful directorial ideas that do not draw attention to themselves and, hand in hand with Bernstein's brilliant music, dance, rejoice, celebrate life and love for two and a half hours. A joy to look at, a joy to listen to. Any changes from the previous film are only for the better in my opinion, as many of the characters are more fleshed out and virtually no slightest plot line goes to waste. The biggest change is the Rita Moreno’s new character, but even she has her place in the plot, and is incredibly vital and sings like an angel at almost 90 years old. Ansel Elgort's acting reminded me immensely of a young Harrison Ford, his Tony is – again thanks to the script – much more interesting than Beymer's, and I think it was a great idea to put so many jokes in the song "Maria", even though it might seem that it doesn't fit. I hope we get to see Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose in future films because they are both adorable. This is certainly not the last time I’m watching West Side Story in the cinema. (12/09/2021)

After seeing West Side Story, it occurs to me that this is turning out to be a great year for musicals. Unlike Annette, which exhibits a clash of different poetics, West Side Story is, in its basic outlines, a pure musical melodrama about love that does not distinguish between good and evil; only its lack of an overture and intermission prevent it from being perfect. Spielberg and Kushner did not radically alter the timeless story of the multiple characters, who are prevented by violence, poverty and racism from fulfilling their dreams of building something of value on the ruins in which they live. Rather, they just fleshed out Tony’s past, added one important character (stylishly played by Rita Moreno), made the female characters stronger and more active, changed the order of certain songs, and made the motifs particularly relevant for the present day (racial violence, immigrants vs. white trash, tradition vs. foreign cultural influences). In comparison with the 1961 adaptation, the cast is more diverse (no whites playing Puerto Ricans, plus a lot of deliberately un-subtitled Spanish lines), as is the ensemble of characters (which include a trans boy). The actors, particularly Ariana DeBose as Anita, are fantastic, and the way Spielberg (or rather Kaminski) uses colour to differentiate the characters and bring clarity to the scenes in which several of them appear at once is admirable. Together with the specific lighting, choice of locations and camera movements, the colours also help to define the feuding sub-worlds, whose conflicts (whether physically, when the Jets and Sharks rumble at midnight, or in a parallel cut) are the emotional highlights of the film. And emotion is plentiful in West Side Story. The version from the 1960s, to which I returned a few days ago, is a nice colouring book and I watched it mostly with detached appreciation. Spielberg's treatment, which adroitly dances between the reality of the gritty New York streets and stylisation in the mould of classic Hollywood musicals, absolutely captivated me from the mambo in the school gym (which, like latter-day America, is a great, colourful celebration of life) and I just continued to be carried away, thrilled and moved by it. That’s not even to mention the clear arrangement of the dance scenes, the smooth tempo changes and the brilliant rhythmisation achieved through in-camera editing, which is not surprising for a director who also shoots action and comedy scenes as musical numbers. 90% (12/09/2021)