• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket

Movie Review – If It Were Love (2020)

October 19, 2020 by Tom Beasley

If It Were Love, 2020.

Directed by Patric Chiha.

SYNOPSIS:

Documentary exploring the process of constructing a dance piece inspired by 1990s rave culture.

Dance is inherently cinematic. In fact, the widescreen delight of elaborate bodily contortions has featured in a number of movies at this year’s LFF, including the booze-soaked Danish drama Another Round and Steve McQueen’s brilliantly romantic Lovers Rock. Nowhere is the power of dance more prominent, though, than in the French documentary If It Were Love, in which filmmaker Patric Chiha follows the travails of a dance troupe preparing for a blockbuster performance.

The group of young dancers are set to perform choreographer Gisèle Vienne’s piece Crowd as a touring production. Chiha’s doc weaves in and out of their professional and personal lives as they seek to find their characters and imbue their performances with depth, while also pondering their relationships with other members of the group. Naturally, these elements intersect and the dividing line between person and character begins to blur as the performance is increasingly honed.

Comparisons to the considerably darker French dance movie Climax, from Gaspar Noé, are of course invited. Indeed, If It Were Love feels like it could, at any time, take a left turn into the darkness and violence of Noé’s LSD-infused chaos. The inherent intensity and danger of unrestrained creativity, which is necessary to make a performance like this work, permeates every frame of the work when the dancers are on stage performing or rehearsing. “I can’t control it at all,” says one dancer, to which the reply is that “it’s okay if things get out of hand”. Just keep the spiked sangria well away.

Chiha also smartly confronts the spectre of pretentiousness in art. It would be easy to laugh at the ways in which these people establish complex and intricate back-stories for their characters, but the film has no interest in doing so. Instead, it elegantly teases out the idea that a certain amount of pretension is necessary to make great art. The role of the artist is to think more deeply about the work than any other audience member ever will, ensuring that those looking for layers will be able to find them.

If It Were Love doesn’t ever veer too wildly away from the central dance production, giving little insight into the lives of those who are taking part. This proves to be a wise choice, focusing the movie tightly on the ways they give themselves to the appealing looseness of dance. One girl’s character is described as a “weird chick” and seems to vampirically bite another dancer on stage, while one dancer is seen away from the group and seems to enter a strange series of movements as if possessed. For the hours they’re dancing, these people become their characters and little else.

While this is a meandering, aimless movie that might not wow those who view the entire idea of dance as a pretentious nonsense, it’s a treat for those fascinated by bodily contortions and musical mania. The intensity of the neon lights of rave is amplified by the sheer style of Chiha’s direction, creating a film that feels dangerous and unpredictable, despite the fact it’s all part of a choreographed piece. Sometimes all style and no substance is a great thing.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Tom Beasley is a freelance film journalist and wrestling fan. Follow him on Twitter via @TomJBeasley for movie opinions, wrestling stuff and puns.

 

Filed Under: London Film Festival, Movies, Reviews, Tom Beasley Tagged With: 2020 BFI London Film Festival, If It Were Love, Patric Chiha

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Sirens from Space: Species and Under The Skin

The Most Shocking Movies of the 1970s

10 Iconic Movie Weapons Every Millennial Kid Wanted

The Essential Cannon Films Scores

10 International Horror Movies You Need To See

Knight Rider: The Story Behind the Classic 1980s David Hasselhoff Series

The Most Iconic Moments of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Max Headroom: The Story Behind the 80s A.I. Icon

Ten Essential Films of the 1950s

The Gruesome Brilliance of 1980s Italian Horror Cinema

WATCH OUR MOVIE NOW FOR FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

Top Stories:

Movie Review – Good Fortune (2025)

Movie Review – Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025)

Movie Review – A Useful Ghost (2025)

2025 BFI London Film Festival Review – Hamnet

The Top 10 Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes

McFarlane Toys launches new wave of DC Multiverse action figures

10 Essential Chuck Norris Movies

2025 BFI London Film Festival Review – Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Is Paul Thomas Anderson the Best Hollywood Director of the 21st Century?

Movie Review – The Woman in Cabin 10 (2025)

STREAM FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

FEATURED POSTS:

The Essential Exorcism Movies of the 21st Century

20 Essential Criterion Collection Films

Great 90s Thrillers From First-Time Directors

Hasbro’s G.I. Joe Classified Series: A Real American Hero Reimagined

Our Partners

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles and Opinions
  • Write for Flickering Myth
  • About Flickering Myth
  • The Baby in the Basket