Private Flowers

There’s something beautiful in watching the human body move in rhythm and with grace. Just recently at the Olympics millions were transfixed by athletes doing just that in both rhythmic gymnastics and synchronised swimming. Those are sports that people would ordinarily shy away from, yet when seen their eyes are glued to the screen, with the exhilarating beauty of such precise, delicate movement. It is a sport, but also a performative art, and that is what we see in ‘Private Flowers’ a beautiful film told only through movements and the emotions that they convey.

The film stars Rodney Diverlus and Jera Wolfe, as two men who find love in the midst of war in 1832. One man is an infantry soldier, his rank private and his name flowers, who was hanged for making love to this other man. Based on a true story, the film was commissioned by the City of Toronto, and is a credit to the artistic talent of the city and its people. The two men are scantily clad, wearing only their underwear, as they dance rhythmically with each other, telling a story through their movements of love and a struggle for identity.

They grapple, hold, thrust, writher and caress each other, with each touch and movement adding to the story. The way their bodies intertwine is beautifully choreographed, falling together and apart with perfect synchronicity, and conveying such emotions as agony, passion, anger and sadness, whilst demonstrating themes of masculinity, heroism and identity. We don’t learn much about the characters but still we feel their emotions as we are guided through this tragic love story that plays out wordlessly in front of our eyes.

Director Haui uses the camera magnificently to capture each movement, circling around the two performers as they passionately bounce off one another in the throes of their love. Particularly impressive is the lighting, which only reinforces the intimacy of the film, with the two performers dancing in what appears to be a dimly lit basement of sorts, which is more effective than any grander set could have ever been. Also of note is the editing by Nick Dragas, which is stunning, as different seamlessly merge into one artistic display.

The score, beginning with deep bass drums loudly banging ominously, before a violin takes the centre stage, and a beautiful piece of orchestra plays is magnificent, perfectly aiding the atmosphere that the dancers and the lighting create.

All of the little elements of ‘Private Flowers’ come together to create an extraordinary opus that showcases a beautiful story, managing to transfix the audience wordlessly through the poetic, rhythmic movements of two human bodies.