Boléro

The narrative begins in 1903 with Ravel’s scholarship rejection and a fateful fall, then shifts to 1927 when he meets Ida Rubinstein. It traces events through the subsequent years, including the American tour and the struggle with writer’s block. The period spans the interwar years, wartime service memories, and the postwar creative surge that leads to Boléro’s premiere. These moments anchor the film’s exploration of genius in a rapidly changing world.

The story centers in Paris, with a pivotal factory setting that embodies the film’s sense of modernity. It also travels to the seaside where the composer seeks relief from writer's block, and later to America during a touring phase. The settings juxtapose intimate artistic spaces with public stages, highlighting the era’s industrial and creative energy. Across these environments, Boléro’s creation is framed as a collision of art, industry, and performance.

🎼 Musical Identity

The film treats Ravel’s music as a core part of who he is, intertwining personal memory with artistic voice. His evolving relationships— with Ida Rubinstein, Marguerite Long, and Misia Sert— shape how he understands rhythm, form, and modern taste. Boléro emerges not just as a composition, but as a statement about selfhood in a changing musical landscape. The recurring motif mirrors the tension between individual expression and public reception.

🏭 Modernity

Boléro is cast as an ode to the modern world, symbolized by the factory setting and industrial rhythms. The film links technology and art, showing how machine-like precision and repetitive structure can become beauty. The American tour also exposes jazz and new audiences that challenge traditional orchestration. The theme emphasizes progress, speed, and the friction between innovation and tradition.

💃 Erotic Performance

Ida Rubinstein’s vision for the dance infuses Boléro with sensuality that unsettles Ravel. The factory idea clashes with her provocative staging, revealing how performance can transform a musical idea into spectacle. The tension between restraint and eroticism comments on art’s capacity to provoke and to redefine modern taste. The film uses dance to explore agency, desire, and the politics of performance.

🧠 Creativity & Struggle

Ravel’s writer’s block and the mental strain of composing while managing health and memory show creativity as a fragile, laborious process. The memory of his mother’s illness and death haunts his work, underscoring the personal cost of genius. Episodes of doubt, failed attempts, and long gestation periods demonstrate how ideas mature over years. The film frames Boléro as a late breakthrough born from persistent struggle and reflection.