Last night, I revisited one of my all-time fav films
Flashdance from 1983 thanks to my new account with
Netflix! I was 16 years old back then and loved this movie so much because of the message of pursuing your dreams, and in Alex's (Jennifer Beal's character) case - to become a professional dancer. She trained in Mawby's bar at night and was a steel worker during the day. Nick, Michael Nouri's character, goes to the bar and watches Alex dance not realizing who she was - his employ at the steel mill. Alex, of course, doesn't want to do that kind of dancing forever but was so intimidated to register at the ballet repertory having no formal dance experience whatsoever. Nick pursues Alex, and while their relationship was at times tumultuous due to Alex's volatile temper, he was such a strong man - classy, genuine, handsome - and encouraged her to pursue her dream.
The dances at Mawby's Bar were quite creative and artistic.
You may know by now that Jennifer Beals had a stand in, if you will, for the dance sequences,
Marine Jahan a French dancer who was not even credited for her role in the opening or ending credits. Some people at the time felt deceived when the dancing and the body close-ups were implied to be of Jennifer Beals but instead were of Marine.
The
soundtrack is awesome and produced an Academy award-winning hit by
Irene Cara - What a Feeling!
Check it out if you've never seen it! Check it if you have! Great message, music and dancing. Strong language and nudity, btw, but great anyway!
