The Dancer, set during France’s 19th century Belle Epoque, is a dramatic biography of Marie-Louise (stage name Loie Fuller). Loie Fuller paved the road to modern dance against the backdrop of the passionate and brilliant city of art, Paris. The film chronicles her epic journey, from her humble beginnings as a dancer to her arrival in Paris, her rise to stardom at the famous Parisian cabaret, Folies Bergère, to her passing on the number one title to Isadora Duncan. Though not widely recognized, Fuller was considered an icon of her generation for her improvisations and incorporations of new advancements in science and technology. Stephanie Di Giusto’s exquisite and beautiful direction in this film brilliantly brings Fuller’s artistic soul and life to the screen, one filled with a beauty possessed by a person who devotes everything she has to art. Above all, the film is a success in the way the director’s love for Fuller is evident. The scenes of the “electrifying serpentine” Fuller throwing herself and her soul into her dance are entrancing amid the rainbow of colors and light. The mise-en-scène that expertly brings to life her perseverance as an artist and her dance aesthetics in pursuit of unity among color, light, movement and soul is a peek into the bright future of a new director.(RHEE Souewon)