Plot Explained Spoilers guaranteed!
Plot Explained

Browse by genre

Polina (2017) movie poster

Timeline

Polina (2017) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2017 · 108 min · French
Echo score 68
Loading streaming availability…
Directed by
Angelin Preljocaj, Valérie Müller
Starring
Juliette Binoche, Aleksei Guskov, Niels Schneider, Anastasia Shevtsova, Jeremie Belingard, Kseniya Kutepova

Driven by a desire for perfection, a young ballerina's rigorous classical dance training leads her towards a promising career at the Bolshoi Ballet. However, an unexpected encounter with contemporary dance sparks a personal and artistic crisis, challenging her established path. Ultimately, she makes a daring choice, leaving behind her former life to journey to France and explore a new creative direction. There, she grapples with finding her place and defining her artistic identity.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (12)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like Polina
  6. 6 Every angle
Loading streaming availability…

12 events in order · contains spoilers

Polina Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Polina (2017) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Polina is accepted into a childhood ballet program

    Polina auditions for a ballet school as a child and earns acceptance. The head teacher Bojinski notices her talent and becomes particularly hard on her, pushing her through strict training. This early praise and pressure shape her love for dance while exposing the demanding nature of classical training.

    When
    childhood
    Where
    Childhood ballet school
  2. Bojinski shapes Polina's technique with a rigorous hand

    Bojinski's rigorous approach continues to shape Polina's technique and performance style. He singles her out for his harsh coaching, believing her talent must be disciplined. The intensity of the training foreshadows the tension between art and personal freedom in her career.

    When
    early training years
    Where
    Ballet school
  3. Polina earns a place at the Bolshoi Ballet

    Polina is accepted into the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, fulfilling the long-held dream of her teachers and family. The new company offers her a prestigious platform but also intensifies the demands on her. She begins to navigate the pressures and expectations of a major Russian company.

    When
    early career
    Where
    Moscow, Bolshoi Ballet
  4. A festival reveals a different path: Aix-en-Provence

    After attending a festival, Polina experiences a different style of dance that inspires her to explore modern movement. She decides to audition for a modern dance school in Aix-en-Provence with her boyfriend Adrien. The choice signals a potential shift away from strictly classical training.

    When
    soon after Bolshoi acceptance
    Where
    Aix-en-Provence, France
  5. Adrien joins a modern dance program

    Adrien and Polina are accepted into the Aix-en-Provence program, but they are warned that modern dance is very different from classical training. Polina struggles with the new choreography, highlighting the clash between her background and the contemporary approach. The warning foreshadows the emotional and artistic challenges to come.

    When
    during the early modern dance period
    Where
    Aix-en-Provence
  6. Injury and upheaval in the modern company

    During a rehearsal Polina injures her ankle, sidelining her from the project. Her understudy Sonia takes her place and begins an affair with Adrien, sowing personal turmoil within the company. The combination of physical setback and relationship drama compounds her sense of failure.

    When
    during the rehearsal
    Where
    Rehearsal studio
  7. Polina is told she's not emotionally ready; she leaves

    After she heals, Polina asks for her role back, but choreographer Liria tells her she is not emotionally ready. Frustrated and disheartened, she leaves the modern company rather than fight for a place. This departure marks a turning point toward pursuing her own path.

    When
    post-injury
    Where
    Modern dance company
  8. Polina seeks work in Antwerp; auditions for a mysterious impresario

    Polina travels to Antwerp and calls the number of the first dance company she sees. She auditions for a strange man who wants her to make him feel something through dance, but the audition is unsuccessful. Before leaving, she glimpses a man teaching dance to kids, hinting at other possible paths.

    When
    post-Antwerp audition
    Where
    Antwerp, Belgium
  9. Hardship and resilience: a waitressing job

    Unable to find work, Polina becomes homeless and survives by taking a waitressing job in a bar. This period tests her resilience and keeps her connected to the dance world through memory and longing. The hardship strengthens her resolve to return to her art.

    When
    after Antwerp audition
    Where
    Antwerp
  10. Polina reconnects with Karl and rediscovers dance

    She returns to the site of the failed audition and meets Karl, a dancer who teaches improv. He invites her to attend his class, and Polina experiences a renewed joy in dancing. Together they choreograph a duet for the two of them to dance.

    When
    following job
    Where
    Antwerp
  11. Polina's father dies; a homeward journey to Moscow

    Polina's father dies, prompting a trip to Moscow. Her mother reminds her that her father always wanted her to be a great dancer. The loss deepens her sense of duty to fulfill that dream.

    When
    after the father's death
    Where
    Moscow
  12. Return to Antwerp and Montpellier Festival

    Polina goes back to Antwerp and, with Karl, performs their duet for a programmer. The programmer books them into the Montpellier Festival, opening a new chapter in her artistic journey. The collaboration marks a hopeful direction in her career.

    When
    after Moscow
    Where
    Antwerp and Montpellier Festival

Last updated: October 09, 2025 at 16:22

Was this helpful?

Timeline questions answered

Polina Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Polina (2017): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why does Polina leave the Bolshoi Ballet?

Polina leaves the Bolshoi after attending a festival where she sees modern dance for the first time. The experience sparks a desire to explore a different kind of movement that feels more expressive and personal than the rigid classical technique she has known. This decision represents her artistic crisis, she realizes classical ballet alone cannot satisfy her growing need for creative freedom.

  • bolshoi ballet
  • modern dance
  • artistic choice
  • Aix-en-Provence
Q2

Why does Liria tell Polina she's not emotionally ready?

After Polina recovers from her ankle injury, she asks choreographer Liria to return to her role. Liria rejects her because Polina has been prioritizing technical perfection over emotional expression throughout her time in the modern company. The combination of her injury, discovering Adrien's affair with Sonia, and her rigid approach to choreography has left her emotionally detached from the work.

  • liria
  • emotional readiness
  • injury
  • rejection
  • modern dance company
Q3

Why does Polina go to Antwerp?

After leaving the modern dance company in Aix-en-Provence, Polina travels to Antwerp on impulse. She calls the number of the first dance company she sees and auditions for them without research or planning. This desperate choice reflects her state of being lost, she has left both the classical and modern worlds but has no clear direction forward.

  • antwerp
  • audition
  • lost
  • dance company
Q4

What happens during Polina's strange audition in Antwerp?

Polina auditions for a mysterious man who runs the company. Instead of asking her to perform choreography, he tells her that since she is a dancer and he knows she can dance, he wants her to make him feel something. The audition is unsuccessful because she cannot connect with his vague, emotionally demanding request, she still approaches dance technically rather than expressively.

  • antwerp audition
  • strange man
  • emotion
  • dance audition
Q5

Why does Polina become homeless in Antwerp?

After failing the audition, Polina cannot find work with any other dance company in Antwerp. Without money or connections, she eventually becomes hungry and homeless. She survives by taking a waitressing job at a bar, which keeps her alive but far from the dance world she loves.

  • homeless
  • waitressing
  • Antwerp
  • struggle
Q6

How does Karl help Polina find joy in dancing again?

Polina returns to the site of her failed audition and meets Karl, a dancer who teaches improv. He invites her to attend his class, where she discovers freedom in dancing without rigid structure or technical demands. Through improvisation, she reconnects with the pure joy of movement, moving beyond the perfectionism that has controlled her entire life.

  • karl
  • improv
  • joy
  • freedom
  • rediscover dance
Q7

Why does Polina's father's death matter to her story?

When Polina's father dies, she travels back to Moscow. Her mother reminds her that her father always wanted her to be a great dancer. This conversation reinforces her sense of duty to fulfill her father's dream, giving her renewed motivation to continue pursuing dance despite all the hardships she has faced.

  • father death
  • Moscow
  • mother
  • motivation
  • dream
Q8

What does the Montpellier Festival represent for Polina?

After Polina and Karl choreograph a duet together, a programmer watches their performance and books them for the Montpellier Festival. This represents the first real validation of her new artistic path, a hopeful sign that her unique blend of classical technique and expressive freedom has found its audience.

  • montpellier festival
  • karl
  • duet
  • validation
  • hopeful ending
Q9

Why does Adrien start an affair with Sonia?

During Polina's ankle injury, her understudy Sonia takes over Polina's role in the production. While Polina is recovering, Sonia and Adrien begin a relationship. The affair happens partly because Polina has been neglecting her relationship, focusing entirely on her craft, and because Adrien is also struggling with the demands of the modern dance program.

  • adrien
  • sonia
  • affair
  • betrayal
  • understudy
Q10

Why does Bojinski push Polina so hard in ballet school?

Bojinski notices exceptional talent in young Polina and believes her gift requires strict discipline to reach its full potential. His harsh coaching style is meant to shape her into a great dancer, though it also creates tension between her love of dance and the rigid demands of classical training. This early pressure foreshadows her later artistic crisis.

  • bojinski
  • ballet school
  • strict training
  • talent
  • pressure

Movie threads

More Movies Like Polina, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Polina tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Artistic Journeys of Self-Discovery like in Polina

Stories of artists who must redefine their craft to find their true voice. If you enjoyed Polina, you'll appreciate these movies about artists and performers on transformative journeys. Discover similar drama stories where characters undergo a creative crisis, leave their old lives behind, and struggle to build a new artistic identity from the ground up.

  • introspective
  • hopeful
  • inspiring
  • arduous
  • solitary
  • melancholic
  • Tone: hopeful, introspective
  • Pacing: steady, character-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Stories in this thread typically follow a linear progression from mastery in a traditional form to a period of disillusionment and crisis. The protagonist then embarks on a physical and emotional journey, often involving a mentor or a new environment, to rebuild their artistry on their own terms, culminating in a moment of self-realization.

Why they belong together: These movies are grouped together because they share a focus on the creative process as a path to self-knowledge. They balance the melancholy of sacrifice with the hopefulness of rebirth, featuring steady-paced narratives with medium emotional weight that are driven by character development rather than external plot.

Hopeful Transformations Through Sacrifice like in Polina

Characters who endure great personal loss to emerge transformed and hopeful. Find movies like Polina that explore the theme of hopeful rebirth after significant sacrifice. These drama films follow protagonists who leave everything familiar behind, endure a period of struggle and isolation, and ultimately find a renewed sense of purpose and happiness.

  • hopeful
  • bittersweet
  • solitary
  • arduous
  • inspiring
  • melancholic
  • Tone: bittersweet, hopeful
  • Pacing: steady, linear
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern involves a decisive break from the protagonist's past, leading to a challenging transitional phase marked by failure, loneliness, and doubt. This 'dark night of the soul' is not punitive but transformative, forcing the character to shed external validation and discover inner strength, culminating in a happy or hopeful resolution that feels earned.

Why they belong together: These films share a specific emotional arc: the bittersweet pain of leaving things behind is balanced by the hopeful promise of a new future. They maintain a steady pace to chronicle the transformation authentically and carry a medium emotional weight, making the hopeful ending feel genuinely satisfying and not saccharine.

If you liked this

Movies Like Polina

Similar movies to Polina: the same genre, themes or kind of story. Each one comes with its own plot summary, timeline and ending explained.

Browse all movie summaries

Every angle

Polina (2017) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Polina in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Movie Summary App

Plot summaries, endings explained and timelines on your phone. Catch up on any movie in minutes, save your favorites and never miss a twist again.

Be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private, always.

Learn more about the app