BOLERO

★★★ ½

(PG) 121 minutes

Like most biopics these days, Anne Fontaine’s Bolero focuses on a particular period rather than trying to cram an eventful life into two hours. Although it frequently flips back and forth in time, leaving you trailing in its wake, its main interest is the tortuous lead-up to composer Maurice Ravel’s decision to settle on Bolero ’s propulsive rhythm and repeat the same sequence seventeen times.

Raphaël Personnaz as Ravel in ‘Bolero’, with cast including Dora Tillier (Misia), Jeanne Balibar (Ida Rubinstein), and Emmanuelle Devos (Marguerite Long). Credit: Pascal Chantier

While much of his life was carried on in public, Ravel remains a mysterious figure. Fontaine’s research has led her to the conclusion that we can know him only through his music. A

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