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Jig
R2 - United Kingdom - Arrow Films Review written by and copyright: Jon Meakin (6th October 2011). |
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The Film
 Jig is an insightful look into the world of competitive Irish dancing. It follows several young dancers (the eldest are teens) and their families as they prepare to travel to Glasgow for the World Championships. When I first heard the term “World Championship” for Irish dancing, I assumed it was the equivalent of America’s World Series. Baseball is only played by Americans, and so surely Irish dancing is only pursued in competition by the Irish. How very wrong I was! This incredible film is truly globetrotting with competitors coming from as far as Russia. The way they all descend on Glasgow is astonishing. And I haven’t even started on the dresses. Never judge a film by its poster, I think is a valuable lesson from Jig. You’ll note that the cover is garish (the same as the menu, so have your sunglasses ready!), with two young girls made up to look like Barbie dolls, so you’ll be forgiven for thinking this is one of those horrible beauty pageants where kids are dragged around by obsessive parents. The parents can be like that, certainly, but the important thing is the kids are incredibly talented and dedicated, none more so than those two on the cover. The training is exhausting especially with injuries, so this is a lot more than posh dresses, wigs and make-up. It’s not just a girls thing anyway, with the most satisfying thread of the film coming from two of the boys. The competition is divided into age groups and the film focuses on rivals in each section. So from the cover, the girl on the left is Brogan from Ireland, the 12 year old current champion. Julia, 10, is her nearest rival and from New York. We also follow three teenage girls who have tended to leapfrog each other in the various events since they were all about six, and two boys in different groups, but with the same teacher. Joe’s family moved from California to England, simply because of his talent for dancing. The lengths these guys are willing to go to seem to have no limits. All the parents talk about the sacrifice and money involved. Whereby it’s good to see such a wide-range of backgrounds, it’s a shame that like any sport, it is dictated by cash. One of the teenage girls makes her own dress, whereas Julia’s mother spends about $2500 on one. Let’s be frank, the Californian family moved because money is no object. The younger boy he trains with though, is described as being unbeatable on natural talent, but they worry they can’t keep up the training required to focus that talent. Much of the appeal in this film is the various families and their teachers. I particularly liked the Dutch couple whose adopted Sri-Lankan son is a “lazy bastard”, as his father affectionately calls him! Julia’s mother is a classic “soccer mom” and watching her and the teachers while her daughter dances is hilarious! She’s so obsessed and they all grit their teeth and nod their heads in time to the steps. Meanwhile Brogan’s parents are more laid back, but her trainer is relentless, like the PE teacher of your nightmares. John Carey is the other main teacher we see, of the two boys. He’s an excellent contributor to the film as he has a long background in the competition and has won several times. As well as money and time involved, they all have to deal with perception. Young John is the Billy Elliot of the story and both he and Joe talk about keeping their activity quiet, which is shame, because they are so brilliant at what they do, they should be able to be more open. Hopefully this exuberant film can help. The Russian’s make for possibly the most interesting group. Issues of money and perception don’t even compare when these girls are trying to train in a country that barely recognises Irish dancing anyway. Susan Bourne directs Jig brilliantly, with no narration or commentary. Just interviews and training clips that start to build a story of who versus who. Then we reach the competition itself and it’s like a sports movie. All the training and money and time comes down to names and scores being read out over various rounds and it gets unbearable as there are just a few points between the competitors we’ve been following. It’s very funny watching 10 year olds desperately trying to work out the maths of their scores!
Video
The image quality is excellent throughout (1.78:1 anamorphic). This review is of the DVD edition, so I can only imagine that the Blu-Ray version will be astonishing. The costumes and make up is so bright and colourful, which makes for a strange contrast with the drab Glaswegian weather.
Audio
There is just an English DD 2.0 stereo audio track, but it’s very good quality and very clear throughout. No subtitles are included.
Extras
The main extra is the commentary with Susan and John Carey, the teacher who was mentoring the two boys in the film. It’s slightly awkward, but they manage to give a lot more insight to the competition’s background. The documentary itself benefits from having no narration, but occasionally, those of us whose knowledge of Irish dancing starts and ends with Riverdance (mentioned more than once!) can do with a helping hand. Other extras include the trailer, a two minute piece about how the dresses are made, and finally a 16 minute feature on another family from Chicago, who also travel to Glasgow. Makes for another interesting perspective as they are very religious.
Overall
Jig is a fascinating and optimistic look at an activity I doubt most people realise exists. Meanwhile, this is an excellent presentation that makes it a fun watch for those who don’t think they’re even interested. Whatever you think of the competition, the long term dedication of these dancers is inspiring.
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